Endings and Beginnings
by LostWolfGirl
Summary: Final fiction in the La Push Imprint Series, sequel to All the Things it Was Supposed to Be, But Wasn't. 10 years after Maddox Ateara and Solace Avery's wedding they return to La Push for Kim's final days.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: House of Memories

* * *

September 2063

"You're wearing at least twenty-five thousand dollars worth of Givenchy and Balmain couture! This isn't a mall photobooth give me some fucking face!" I screamed at the teenage model, who in turn rolled her lifeless eyes before she hunched her lanky body and attempted to work her face into something more animated.

She looked constipated.

I took a few more shots, all lackluster and howled in frustration. We were an hour behind schedule, with two more girls to finish before we could wrap up the shoot. The other models, older and more experienced, watched from the makeup station with bemused expressions, both dripping in opulent jewel and flowy fabrics. I had worked with them both before and knew I didn't have to worry about but I was working against time, fighting the natural light that filtered in through a wall of windows. It didn't help that I was desperate for a moment alone and couldn't concentrate with my breasts so painfully full of milk I didn't have time to pump.

Everything in the fashion world is done far in advance. We had to get these shots to the editing team tonight in order for them to be on schedule for the Spring '64 Issue of Vogue. This issue would be released in January, featuring clothes that were not appropriate to wear until May or June but we were on a strict deadline.

"Go, go just get out of here," I sighed, motioning for one of the other models to come forward.

"Hello Maddox," The tall slender Asian model greeted me politely. I smiled in return though my left breast burned in agony. I was nearly 36 and this girl was barely half my age but she was a consummate professional, who knew her body well. Barring any emergencies I would be done with her quickly.

"Hey Sun, it's good to see you again," I said directing her to lie across the chaise lounge. A stylist's rushed behind her, artistically fanning her flowy Elie Saab dress out for optimal display.

The shoot was pretty standard, in a studio staged to look like a French courtesan's powder room in shades of beige and baby blue. The soft vintage decor contrasted beautifully with their ultra modern outfits in rich shades of red and burnt orange with heavy beading that was set to be all the rage come spring.

"Beautiful. Perfect," I cooed as Sun draped herself gracefully into another position, her eyes filled with fire.

Every crouch and stretch I made caused my camera strap to brush against my sensitive breasts but I ignored it. Solace and I knew that breastfeeding would be difficult with my fast paced job but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for my babies. I heard my phone ring repeatedly from my bag, Solace's ringtone and the mother in me wanted to dive across the room for it but at a shoot of this caliber all eyes were on me.

I had worked in nature photography for several years before my wedding and the transition to fashion photography had been difficult. If it were not for my connection to Chloe a model-turned-actress, I would not be here now shooting a spread for one of the only remaining fashion magazines.

The world of printed publications declined rapidly in the mid-2040s but Vogue remained. Year round the rest of my photography work revolved around blogs, vlogs, catalogues, fashion shows and the occasional private shoot for the fashionista that could afford me, which forced me to ping-pong between LA and New York, my beloved husband and two small children in tow, but Vogue was the big leagues.

Sun's shoot went smoothly and as a makeup artist touched up the next model, I ran to my phone, tripping over cords as I went. Solace knew better than to call me until I gave him the all clear and a heavy knot had formed in my stomach as I fiddled with the touch screen to return his missed calls.

"Are they okay," I hissed tears of worry already forming in my eyes.

"Carina and Ezra are okay, but we need to get back to La Push." Solace's voice was all wrong. I could hear the strain there and it made the knots in my gut multiply.

"What happened?" I cried, dragging myself further away from the team of makeup artists and stylists.

"It's Kim, babe we have to leave soon or we won't make it in time to say goodbye," he choked on the word goodbye and my tears doubled, streaming down my face.

Kim had gotten sick at the end of last year. I had heard she was diagnosed with lung cancer but being far away from something gives you the distinct ability to numb it's sharp edges and tuck it away. We had not been back to Washington since Christmas when her diagnosis was fresh and she was still her old straight shooting self. She looked older of course, but that was many of the pack I grew up with. Those who were frozen in time had all left long ago to avoid suspicion, leaving only those like my parents who started to go gray a few years back.

After I ditched my college sweetheart at the altar, we made a new life. We started fresh by moving to L.A following Solace's gigs as a stunt driver which kept us going until I transitioned slowly from nature photography to the world of fashion and celebrity. After I built my name in the industry it became harder and harder to return to my scenic my hometown and my tribe.

My husband Solace and I rented two large apartments on each coast, never truly putting down roots in either. This nomadic lifestyle led to two beautifully bohemian children aged 6 and 1, a spontaneous and wildly happy marriage, and a huge wedge between my nuclear family and the wolf pack that raised me.

"Babe I have one girl left to shoot. Do you have our emergency bags packed?" I sniffled, turning to find a room of primarily gay fashionistas waiting impatiently for me.

"Yes, we're all set to fly," he said seriously. Solace had taken less and less stunt work as our children and my career grew. He became the perfect father, managed the household and took care of the logistics, allowing me to be the emotional and scatter-brained artist I always dreamed of being.

"When's the next flight?" I asked watching as a tall frail-looking stylist played with his long silky mane in annoyed boredom.

"6:45, I've already booked."

It was 1:50pm. The traffic from this beautiful studio in Glendale to LAX would be brutal, giving me less than an hour to finish this. My breast still felt on the verge of bursting and Kim the long time matriarch of our world was dying. I knew this on an intellectual level for a while but I had not been ready to face the brutality of that fact before it came falling down on me like a pile of bricks.

"If we don't finish this last girl soon, we'll need to change the lights and put up some soft boxes," Christopher my curmudgeonly second camera and lighting tech, called over the blood rushing in my ears.

"I'll meet you there, babe." I hung up and rushed back to my camera, hissing with each bounce of my breasts.

"Ready?!" I shouted over the growing chatter. The third and final model, a blond clad in a merlot mini dress, stood poised on an ottoman in 5 inch gold heels. She smirked at me cockily as if she had been born for this. It was my favorite shot of the day. I shot several dozen others, in many different poses but I knew without a doubt I had my cover shot within the first five frames.

"Lydia can you please book me a car to LAX?" I called over my shoulder to a production assistant and the blond model, now sprawled across the floor, smiled from the very depth of her soul. The triumph was evident on every millimeter of her face. I caught that shot as well before I let her go.

I tossed my memory card to Lydia, packing my things and watching as they connected it to a nearby laptop. I'm a known perfectionist. I would generally spend hours pouring over every shot but the last triumphant frame, taken in the hazy mid afternoon sun, gave me the confidence to excuse myself early.

My designated ride-sharing vehicle was parked at the side entrance of the studio by the time I made it down the steep stairs and ignoring the pain, I ran for it.

"LAX," I confirmed pulling my camera bag and large insulated breastfeeding bag in behind me.

The driver, a young slim black man with close cropped hair looked back at me through the rear-view mirror, nodding and giving me the once over before averting his eyes.

"Ma'am you've got something on your shirt," he said evenly, pulling out of the lot. I had leaked through both sides, leaving two large wet marks on my mustard yellow top. Without a second thought I got out my baby bag and the 'click-click-whoosh' of my breast pump served as the soundtrack for our drive to airport.

To his credit, the driver only looked back once; confirming that there was in fact a chubby brown lady pumping milk from her tits in his back seat, before keeping his eyes glued to the road. I filled two bottles in silence, before I was throwing a tip at him in a rush to get to the correct gate. There were still 2 hours before take-off but with ever increasing national security, deeply tanned skin and a bag full of white liquid, I was in for quite an ordeal.

I felt Solace before I saw him, a head taller than the crowd, carrying our precious Carina in a papoose. At 13 months she was all smiles, waving as she caught sight of me in the chaos. Her brother Ezra let go of Solace's leg and ran for me, arms extended.

"I've got an extra t-shirt in my backpack," Solace motioned, bending down to kiss the cheek not pressed to Ezra's. I changed in the family bathroom, stripping out of my casually chic designer clothes for an old band t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. While I switched, Solace changed Carina's diaper and I listen as Ezra listed the days events from breakfast and finger painting to petting zoo yoga.

Solace and I often debated the merits of Los Angeles versus New York. We had yet to pick a permanent residence and while Solace fit better with the carb-free, goat-yoga loving California crowd, I leaned towards the fast-moving, razor-tongued New York set. In truth, neither felt place like home but of the two, the bustling urban city of New York (where my sister Harley and her husband Jett now lived with their baby girl Starr), always put me more at ease. While Solace, still phasing, enjoyed the proximity to nature that L.A provided.

After several rounds of screening, my breast milk being tested twice with PH and then drug strips, we reached the waiting area with 20 minutes until boarding. My Solace sat across from me, eyes glazed as he watched the planes lined just outside of the window. We hadn't had a moment alone, we might not for several more hours but I could read the pain there as clearly as my own. He bounced Carina absentmindedly on his knee, kissing the baby soft hairs on her head before meeting my gaze.

"We should have gone home for Easter," I whispered so low only Ezra in my lap and Solace could hear. Solace wanted to, he had campaigned for us to take an extended spring break when my mother told us about Kim's deteriorating health but last minute I booked a shoot for Kenzo on Jeju Island in the new United Republic of Korea.

It wasn't that I didn't want to see my family but every corner of La Push seemed to be saturated in overwhelming emotion for me and photography was my calm. I lived a beautiful life. I was more fortunate and happy now than I could ever imagined was possible but every road in La Push seemed to lead to memories that cut a path through my heart like a scalpel. Every doorstep dragged me back in time to mistakes and heartaches I'd rather forget. Each beach and sandy shore washed me with guilt and regret that weighed on my chest like anchors.

I grew up viewing Kim as a constant like First Beach and River's Edge Restaurant, she was part of La Push. With each update on her health it was hard to imagine this woman, so filled with life, could ever cease to exist. So I pushed it back and away until it was too late.

"They've brought her home. She's doing home hospice care," he whispered to me once we were settled in our row, Carina in my lap and Ezra happily taking the window seat. I grabbed his big warm hand, not trusting my own voice to answer.

"Embry and Letty are in Brazil with Jake and Nessie, they don't know if they'll make it in time." He choked on the last three words. I kissed him, pulling back to press my forehead to his. I counted silently, inhaling him and listening as his breathing normalized after 40 counts.

"I love you," I started.

"More than life itself," he finished.

It was our mantra and it meant more today than ever before.

We rented a car at an airport kiosk, taking the only family friendly vehicle they had available and driving to La Push in silence. After a quick feeding and changing, both our children passed out in their car seats without a fuss.

Solace never sold his old house on the South west edge of La Push near Second Beach trail but with each visit it seemed to be in a farther state of disrepair. The dated furniture was faded by the sun through the large windows that now leaked, leaving the house smelling stale and moldy. The floors creaked loudly and some planks had warped. It was fascinating how quickly a house would deteriorate without inhabitants and part of me wished I had time to shoot the space.

It was nearly midnight but without discussion we dropped our bags in the doorway and rushed back out, driving the familiar road to my family home. The door was unlocked, lights and deep voices sounded from the kitchen. We tip-toed inside, careful not to wake our children as we followed the sounds inside.

At the head of the large kitchen table my baby brother Addison, fully grown and sporting a thick lumberjack beard, was the first to hear us approach. He spun around bringing Solace, still holding our sleeping Ezra, in for a hug. They stood together silently, my son as Solace released the tears he'd been holding back since the moment we boarded the plane.

"You came," my mother sighed in relief, pulling Carina out of my arms as soon as I was close enough. Carina stirred, whining momentarily before my mother nuzzled her, humming an old Makah tune that instantly took my breath away. I hadn't heard it since my grandmother babysat us, rocking Addison in her lap while we ran around her home in Neah Bay.

I flopped down on the nearest chair next to my sister-in-law Sammy who instantly grabbed my hand and squeezed it. She watched Solace and Addison stoically, as they muttered to each other still deep in a brotherly embrace.

"Is Harley coming?" I asked searching the room. I hadn't thought to text her, knowing she was soon to start filming on her newest project. Sammy shook her head, her short cropped hair swinging across her face.

"I don't think so. She's leaving to film some fantasy movie in New Zealand in 2 days," Sammy whispered. She was still dressed in her police uniform, her dark blue shirt unbuttoned and her holstered gun at her side, which emphasized her look of disapproval with my sister.

After Miramax entrusted Harley with her first summer blockbuster she had been catapulted into the public sphere. In the last 3 years she had helmed a wildly successful rom-com, an oscar nominated rags-to-riches tale and a globe trotting heist film, so despite owning a beautiful loft in Tribeca very close to our tiny place in Chinatown, our times in New York rarely overlapped.

"Where's Dad?" "Where's Quil?" Solace and I asked in unison. No one answered.

My mother continued to hum and kiss every inch of Carina's face, and Addison pulled his wife to his side. Addison whispered to Sammy soothingly, but her shoulders continued to shake until finally she huffed, reholstered her gun and moved to leave.

"What? What's wrong?" I demanded, the shrillness of my voice causing Carina to cry.

"He's with Jared. Where the hell do you think he is? He's been at Jared's side for the last month and you'd know that if you thought to check in just once since Christmas. You act like you're allergic to this place! At least Harley donates and knows the struggles we are facing here in the pack and on the reservation. You can't even pretend to give a fuck until it's too late," Sammy spat, her hard shell cracking momentarily allowing one fat tear to fall out of her left eye.

Solace pulled me to his chest, shielding me from the anger palpitating off of Sammy but I just felt nauseous. I'd never once sat to think about what happened to a wolf when their imprint died and now my horror multiplied thinking of warm, jolly Jared who was a constant fixture of my childhood. Sam, Jared, Paul, Collin and my father were the town's old guard wolves, they had retired long ago and acted as advisors to the very small remaining pack of five, soon to be three with Sammy and Freddie's upcoming retirements. Above all else though they were best friends, the five of them growing even closer since so many of their pack had moved on.

"Oh God Jared," I half gasped, half sobbed and Solace held me tighter.

"We don't know what will happen to him… once she goes. He's barely holding it together now so we'll probably lose them both," Addison said, lovingly stroking Sammy's hair as she sniffled into his shoulder.

They were not generally this physically affectionate in public, in fact of the imprinted couples they were always the most understated. I could count the number of times I've seen them kiss on one hand, including their wedding, but their relationship had gone particularly smoothly as far as imprints go. They had been best friends growing up and my brother had always had a crush on Sammy before she phased and imprinted on him, so it was only natural that their relationship was almost instantaneous.

Sammy followed Addison to New York for school without a second thought and attended Ithaca College while he received a bachelors in Architecture from Cornell. After graduation they returned to La Push for a small beachside wedding before moving to Spain so he completed the apprenticeship he needed to become a fully licensed architect. Much to everyone's surprise when all his hard work had been completed, they moved back to La Push to settle down. She became a cop for the reservation and he worked for the state, commuting ridiculous distances so she could be in the town she loved so much.

"When can we go see them?" Solace asked.

"Everyone's just coming and going. She's hopped up on so much medication she's in and out of consciousness," my mother finally spoke. I could see the horror in her eyes. I had not seen such fear there since her own father passed when I was in college.

"All of her kids are here though, including Amber," Sammy warned, looking at me with meaningful eyes.

I had not seen Amber in the ten years since our wedding and if I were honest with myself I hadn't thought of her since then either. I saw Kai relatively often but like a silent agreement he kept news of his maternal family to himself. I built a comfortable and healthy relationship with my step-son and his imprint Hope over time and they were now my closest connection to La Push. Solace and I invited them to come down to L.A often, and they accepted our invites more now that he was working on getting his commercial pilots license. To become a pilot a lot of airtime practice was required and private planes were a lot more common in jet-set crowds of Los Angeles than La Push.

"As I expected they would be," I said dismissively, grabbing Solace's hand and heading out the door. The majority of the Cameron children lived in Europe now (all immortal save for Annabelle), and the brothers had become part of Jake's ever growing international pack along with Ethan's son Emmett, Taylor's wife Melody, Seth Clearwater and Soli's son Tristan.

"Just don't start any shit, that's the last thing they need right now," Sammy pressed.

I didn't have the desire or the energy to defend myself against Sammy, La Push's biggest cheerleader, so I left without another word. It was mid-September and still very warm despite the late hour. Hand-in-hand we walked through the dark reservation, the salty ocean breeze from the west calming me as we approached.

"Kai's here," Solace announced, letting go of my hand and sprinting toward the old Cameron house.

His son must have smelled us as well because before he reached the door, Kai launched himself over the rail and collided with Solace with deafening force. They hugged fiercely, so similar in age, size and appearance they could have passed for brothers. Hope appeared on the porch just as Kai's sobs broke the silence of the dark road, she watched on with pained eyes and I joined her, pulling the petite beauty into a warm hug.

"Hey Maddz," a weak voice sounded from behind me. I turned to see Melody hidden in the shadows on the old porch swing that Harley and I used to fight over as children.

"Hey, Mel you okay?" I answered awkwardly.

"Yeah, I just needed to get some air," she sighed. I always liked Melody despite her being part of a generation of wolf pack girls that were just a few years too much older for me to click with. Physically, I now surpassed her (complete with age-lines), while Melody remained frozen at the height of her perfection. We had not discussed it but if we wanted to age at a similar rate Solace would have to stop phasing again soon and that thought weighed more heavily on my heart now.

I had grown up so used to the big, ageless men of the pack but seeing Melody so unchanged was like a kick to the gut. I wasn't jealous of her smooth face or perpetually perky breasts, I viewed my body so much differently after having children but after having wasted so many years without Solace I would have given anything for her immortality. Melody had become a tech mogul a few years back, creating an online banking and lending platform, but I didn't covet her money just her immortality and the opportunity to bask in his perfection for the rest of forever.

Despite medical testing from Carlisle and our newest pack doctor Hazel Uley-Varn, we never narrowed down the genetic anomaly that triggered four female wolves. The theory that it had to do with reproduction was disproved twice, first with Melody's mother Anna and then with my own sister-in-law Sammy, who gave birth to my nephew Caleb a few months after my wedding.

"Ready?" Solace asked hugging me from behind.

I nodded against his chest, pulling open the old rickety screen door, the same door that slammed loudly at least three dozens times at every pack event, with children running back and forth as their parents mingled inside. Every inch of this house brought back memories. The faded worn wallpaper brought me back to games of the floor is on fire with Jessy, Chloe and Harley. The old couches punched me with memories of Annabelle's outlandish themed birthday parties, where we sat around as she opened piles of presents from Brady.

Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, where Solace and I decided to get married ten years ago, stood Ethan and Taylor both still youthful but darkened with grief. Taylor motioned for us to go upstairs but Solace stopped to hug them both. At the kitchen table Annabelle sat in Brady's lap, her face hidden in the crook of his neck. Ace, the oldest of her three sons, sat on the floor behind them looking off into space, his head rested on his forearms. Ethan's wife Elena and her oldest Emmett, sat across from them, both welcoming us warmly if not a bit distractedly. Will Black stood stoically at the back door, barely registering our entrance.

"Any updates?" I asked my voice shakier than I felt I had the right to. I stood in a room surrounded by her children and grandchildren, her son and daughter-in-laws, and I felt like a fraud. As if any moment they would lash out at me, and ask me why I was only just now darkening their doorstep.

"She's not completely lucid. She doesn't always remember what year it is or who everyone is but she's awake now so just go along with whatever she says, keep her calm and say your goodbyes," Brady answered with swollen red eyes.

Solace pulled me up the creaking stairs, lined with years of pictures of the Cameron children, grandchildren and the pack. I fingered a picture near the top of 4 or 5 year old me and Harley sitting in Jared's lap as Paul passed out Christmas gifts.

"You looked so damn cute in that picture," Amber sighed, startling me.

She stood tall and statuesque in the middle of the hall, her chocolate brown hair pulled back into bun, her clothes uncharacteristically casual and disheveled. Her supernaturally perfected face was scrunched painfully as if, if she could still cry she would be pouring like a faucet. Without a second thought, letting go of everything but that moment, I ran to her

Years of pain, regret and anger seeped out of every pore. This place and these people were my home.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Bayak and La Push

* * *

Amber stood tall and statuesque in the middle of the hall, her chocolate brown hair pulled back into bun, her clothes uncharacteristically casual and disheveled. Her supernaturally perfected face was scrunched painfully as if, if she could still cry she would be pouring like a faucet. Without a second thought, letting go of everything but that moment, I ran to her

Years of pain, regret and anger seeped out of every pore. This place and these people were my home.

"I'm sorry we're so late," I sobbed into the soft fabric of her t-shirt. She shook her head, squeezing me harder until it became harder to breathe.

"No, no, I'm so happy you're here. She was just asking about you two," Amber said pulling back to look me in the eye.

"Us?" I croaked, holding back tears that I had not allowed myself to spill since the moment we entered this house of memories.

"Yea, she wanted to make sure 'Solace the hot mute' was still happy and if Maddie ever got to take photos for Vogue," Amber chuckled. I sobbed, releasing a torrent of tears that felt like a jolt to the stomach. Amber allowed Solace to pry me from her arms and with her hand on my lower back she ushered me to the door.

I took one deep breath, trying to compose myself, and turned the knob.

The first thing to strike me was the acrid smell of hospital grade cleaning products, stale air and something sickenly sweet that I couldn't place. I gagged and took a step back instinctively but Solace gently nudged me forward. My father nodded to me as I entered, he stood statue-like next to a chair by the door. He looked as though he was guarding a shrunken form that sat collapsed in the rocking chair. I didn't recognize him automatically but when he looked up at me with his mahogany eyes, so much like Ethan and Taylor's, it registered painfully.

Jared.

Last Christmas, despite the cancer diagnosis, Jared was still busy zooming in and out of the kitchen baking and laughing. He was (as always) the huge wolf that nurtured and doted on every child lucky enough to know him. Ezra followed him around the way he followed Kai, watching him in awe and mimicking his mannerism, until Jared scooped him up and covered both sides of his face with kisses. Now he sat half awake, staring at the hospital bed, not acknowledging our entrance. He looked as though he had aged 20 years in the last 9 months and lost half his body weight, it was staggering.

Kim in comparison looked much more alert, though not much healthier. Her long gray hair was gone, her head now wrapped in a designer scarf pinned like a turban, with a beautiful jeweled brooch featuring a giant pink diamond. She looked like the filthy rich sultana of some far away world.

Though Kim and Jared never seemed to have much financially, they raised four exceedingly successful children and in recent years she took to wearing all of the elaborate gifts her children showered on her. Annabelle's was now the premier catering and event management company for the west coast elite, with offices in 3 major cities and Annie showed her love by draping her mother in the latest fashions. Taylor and Melody's online banking platform revolutionized the way people borrowed and lent money, and they liked to spoil their retired parents with lavish trips to exotic destinations.

Amber and Ethan went into business together creating a customizable luxury furniture brand, that now filled mansions the world over and even featured in magazines like Vogue. While they would have loved to rebuild the old Cameron family house and fill it with the most luxurious furniture, Kim refused so instead they showered her with rare and elaborate jewelry that I was sure she didn't know was real, since she pinned them like costume baubles to old t-shirts she wore to the market. She once handed Carina a huge emerald ring to play with and it was so immaculate I gasped. In true Solace form, he gifted me with a much smaller version a few months later.

She looked cocooned now in her designer finery. Like me, Kim was always a bit on the heavier side but she sat now at a hundred pounds soaking wet. Her once deeply tanned skin was pale and ashen, and seemed to sag off of her body. However she sat up, smiled and put her arms out for as soon as she saw me. I ran forward and carefully took her hug, hot tears spilling over as I bent forward.

"Not you too, I can't with all these tears. That's why I kicked everyone out and got my little vamp here. Melody is usually pretty good but she turned on the waterworks earlier and I had to kick her ass out too, so you've been warned no crying over me," Kim groaned. Solace chuckled, coming around the other side to grab Kim's hand.

"Hey Sociopath," Solace greeted. His eyes were watering but he was smiling his biggest, whitest smile as he approached.

"You know, I always found that nickname unfair. I was more of a psychopath than a sociopath, Mute," she shot back, straining to reach for her glass of water on the nightstand. I moved to get it for her but Amber beat me to it, whizzing past me at vampire speed and leaning over my hunched form to put the straw in Kim's mouth. Kim took it greedily, her eyes rolling back in her head with joy as she drank.

"These fucking medicine makes me so damn dry," she complained then examined us. "What's this? My girls practically hugging?"

Amber and I stood hip to hip. We looked at each other and smiled, my eyes glazing so that I had to break our connection and turn around to blot out my tears discreetly.

"Oh Kim, that's all water under the bridge now," I said shakily. She grabbed my hand with more strength than she looked to possess.

"I was so wrong, Maddie. We never had much money to spoil them but I indulged my children too much and I let you get hurt. I hope as a mother you could forgive me," Kim said urgently, almost frantic. Her demeanor changed so rapidly it shocked me; I gasped, instinctively pulling back.

"Kim, no no-no-don't," I stuttered, so painfully uncomfortable with the conversation we were heading toward. When Solace and I started our new life, beside leaving behind La Push, we abandoned all mistakes and never discussed them again. I wasn't sure if I would ever be ready to examine them under a microscope, the way Kim was so famous for.

"Mom, please don't apologize for me," Amber sighed and I nodded in agreement but Kim just continued.

"Solace, I robbed you of so many years with your boy. There's nothing I could ever say to make that right," Kim sobbed now distraught. Jared finally came to life, leaving my father's side to squeeze himself between Solace and his wife.

"Don't upset yourself sweetie," Jared croaked kissing the side of her face from jaw to temple, tilting her top-heavy turban in the process and revealing radiation burnt skin at the base of her neck.

"Kim, Kai and I are great now and we still have many years to come, please don't even think about it. You two were like parents to me when I first joined the pack, you made the whole thing bearable and welcomed me to my first real family. I love you both so much," Solace said finally breaking down.

He wasn't one for emotional declarations. Solace kept journals detailing his entire life with years worth of written emotion, but hearing him say this out loud made it that much more painful. He leaned forward and embraced both Jared and Kim, as I held Kim's hand and openly sobbed into Amber's t-shirt. After several long moments my father coughed and pulled me from Amber's arm gingerly. He cooed 'I love yous' in my ear as I released years of uncried tears and Amber patted my back.

"Okay, okay enough. I warned you all. Amber, take Jared and Quil to eat and get some sleep, their shift is over. Some of the girls will be here as soon as the sun comes up," Kim instructed and before they could protest Amber pulled the two retired wolves out the room.

"How are your babies?" Kim asked, before I could inquire about her health or comfort and I pulled a chair to her side and sat.

"They're both great. Carina has been picking up words really quickly since Ezra is such a chatter-box, her brother really adores her… he's such a sweet boy. He doesn't take after either of us," I chuckled.

"He takes after Solace's mom Yvonne the church lady," Kim nodded. "I mean he looks just like her… she wasn't particularly sweet."

We all laughed but I felt a pang of sadness at the simple tidbit. Kim was like the pack historian. She had long taken over the tradition of telling the story of the wolf-pack after Harry and Billy's deaths, but beyond that she knew all the little details about the long line of men since Sam Uley that protected this region in secret. In her own way she also was part of the pack history. She had been there for every battle, every drama, every imprint and every birth. Whenever there was a debate on any long forgotten fact Kim would settle it, her memory was unbeatable. Would these stories, the history of my husband's pack and his legacy disappear with her? Would the pack itself survive?

Without much vampire activity the pack had dwindled down to just five: my sister-in-law Sammy, her nephew Aki from her sister Sarah and Krys, Embry's son Freddie Call the current Alpha, Phil and Tara's youngest son Harrison, and Kai. Freddie would be retiring as alpha soon and Sammy, who had stopped phasing to have her son Caleb, would be stopping again this time permanently, in hopes of expanding their family. The remaining wolves were all young and inexperienced. No one knew who would take over as Alpha, or if there would even be another Alpha.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring them around more, I wish Ezra could have heard you tell the Quileute legends… I worry that with all the yoga and cold-pressed juices he won't know his culture," I confessed, looking over at Solace who stood watching me closely. We have never spoken about this before and he seemed a bit taken back but in agreement.

"Then why have you stayed away so long little Bayak?" Kim asked, using an old nickname I'd forgotten about. In Quileute legends the Bayak, or the trickster raven, was a wiley jokester who had a series of misfortunes with other animals. It was probably the most apt nickname I ever earned.

"I don't know Kim, it's complicated. Everything in this town reminds me of shit I'd rather forget and honestly because I've been away so long I don't feel like I know anyone anymore… also I'm just kinda ashamed to show my face around here," I sighed admitting aloud something I hadn't even told my husband.

Kim nodded understandingly then slapped my hand hard, "Well get the fuck over it!"

"What?" I balked and Solace sniggered, covering his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"Your parents aren't getting any younger and I know it kills Claire only getting to see one of her grandchildren more than twice a year. You can't just keep running across the globe, never settling down and trying to avoid your past. You need to face it head on because you can't reconnect with the people or culture without being here. So what's holding you back? I know it's not Kai because he loves you and is always raving about how kind you are and what a great mom you are."

She stopped when Solace rushed to my side and I sobbed into my hands, "No, no it's not Kai. I love Kai too," I insisted crying harder.

"It's Javier. She still feels bad about Javier," Solace said forcing me to look at him. I nodded. He knew without me saying one of the things that still haunted me the most.

"He's married with 4 kids and a nice big house, girl he isn't feeling bad for himself neither should you," she said and we both whipped around to look at her.

"What?!" We asked in unison and she laughed at us.

"What you thought I would mind my own business? You both should know by now how nosy and insistent I am. I made Levi give me his information and we've been playing penpal the old school way," she chuckled grabbing the tablet on her nightstand and fiddling with it before handing it over.

There were dozens of emails exchanged over the last 10 years, many with picture attachments of his beautiful statuesque African American wife and their gorgeous caramel skinned children ranging in age from infant to about 7 or 8. I passed it back when my tears started to splash on the touch screen.

"They're beautiful," I whispered more to myself than anyone else. I had spent so many nights wondering and worrying about him, apologizing to him from my bed, praying he could feel even a portion of my remorse and this was like a weight lifted off my chest.

"They are, so be happy Bayak and I'm not dead yet, so bring your Ezra over for dinner- that's when they let me get out of bed and walk around and I'll make sure he hears all the stories of his tribe," she said through a yawn.

Solace stood and closed the curtains, where bright rays of morning sun had started to filter through.

"Get some rest," he said moving to kiss her forehead.

"Thank you Kai, you're my favorite grandson," she said looking up at Solace conspiratorially. "But if you tell anyone else I said that, I'll deny it."

Solace froze, then quickly recovered. Bending down to kiss her once again.

"I won't tell a soul Gran."

.X*X.

With a year old baby, sleep was touch and go but for once in a very long time I woke up naturally, feeling dehydrated but refreshed. Still dressed in Solace's old tee and yoga pants, I dragged myself down the stairs to the kitchen.

I could hear deep voices as I approached so I wasn't surprised to find Jordan, Mark and Phil all gathered around the kitchen island. This trio of wolves were Solace's closest friends and years ago, when we spent one glorious year making this our home, they were constant fixtures in our kitchen. Phil's salt and peppered hair and the faded curtains were the only signs of passed time.

Mark twirled me, kissing both my cheeks before I was passed around the room. When I finally made it to my husband he had a cup of tea ready for me. I beamed at him, kissing him indecently in spite of the crowd.

"How can you guys still be in the honeymoon stage ten years later?" Jordan groaned. Mark elbowed him.

"Jordan's grumpy because we had to listen to Harrison and Cooper, go at it for like 4 hours last night, all while trying to sleep on an old full size bed," Mark explained.

"That's my boy," Phil chuckled. His son Harrison had married his imprint Cooper Uley two years back and apparently their passion had not waned.

"Why aren't you staying at your cabin?" I asked confused.

"We _are_ staying in our cabin," Jordan whined with dark circles under his eyes. "We've been renting it to Harry and Cooper since the apartment they were staying in got bought out by those developers. They tore down all those little town houses by Strawberry Bay Falls and Third Beach."

"Developers? In La Push? Isn't all that wooded area protected tribal land?" I asked incredulously. Mark cocked his head, then looked over at Solace surprised as if he had expected him to clue me in on something major.

"What? What's going on?" I demanded.

Solace sighed, "the state rezoned the reservation two years back, we lost a lot of the reservations waterfront land and the forests to the south and east of La Push meaning they aren't protected anymore. Developers have to present plans to the state for approval but a lot of the forest surrounding La Push will probably be torn down when it finally goes through."

"Wait, so are we even in La Push anymore? Are the woods around our house still protected?" I asked looking around the old faded kitchen, suddenly feeling protective of our home that lie on the southwest border of our reservation.

"This was technically never in La Push, we were right on the old border. I purchased the house and all the land surrounding it from the state," Solace sighed ruffling his hair the way he did when he was uncomfortable.

"Have the developers come with their offers yet? They've offered us seven-hundred thousand for the 4 acres we own, I imagine they'll give you a lot more for ten acres so close to the beach," Mark said pouring himself another cup of coffee.

Solace nodded, avoiding my eyes.

"Wait? How much?" I choked on my tea. In L.A seven-hundred thousand wouldn't even get you half an acre of land on the beach. Somehow our reservation was being broken apart and being sold for pennies and it ignited a fire in my gut that cut through the sadness of Kim's illness.

"They offered us a little over a million with plans for a luxury resort and they threw in a promise to rebuilding the Quileute Tribal School when I refused the first offer," Solace confessed, his shoulders sagging.

"What's wrong with the school?" I howled. I felt as though I was being hit by an avalanche of bad news.

"Maddie, that school has a student population of less than 50 students and is more run down then this place," Phil answered pointing to a particularly warped floorboard.

"Trisha was forced into early retirement because there were not enough kids to have a 5th grade class. Kids are being bussed to Forks. That's how they were able to rezone at all, the registered Quileute population is down to like 500 and most of those are elderly. Young people are moving to the cities, marrying outside the tribe and not coming back. Levi and Krista, Soli and Randy, shit even Jake and Nessie are thinking about moving back because it's just that dire. Eli and Ava have already moved back," Mark explained.

"It's not just the school, without Kim the QTC will probably have to close down too since funding was pulled. Kim's been working there for free for 3 years," Jordan added. This was the biggest kick in the gut.

The Quileute Teen Center, where Kim had spent her entire career working as a guidance counselor, is where I held my first photography exhibit. They were always low on funding but every employee was always dedicated to finding new ways to keep us engaged. In the summers, against the back of the blue building, big white sheets were hung and we all sat on the grass watching the old movies they projected. Outside of school it was the only chance I had to meet and mingle with young Quileutes outside of the pack circle.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" I shot at Solace and his trio of buddies all looked away awkwardly.

"Because I thought you'd wanna sell so we could buy some condo in Manhattan and I'm not ready to add another 10 acres of land to their portfolio," Solace said honestly.

"No, no fuck that, we aren't selling a single inch of this land," I stomped my foot for emphasis and I watched as the fire in my eyes registered and duplicated in his.

"Seriously?" Solace asked, I nodded.

"And we are going to save the QTC," I announced.

La Push had raised more than one successful wolf and had enough connections with deep pocketed vampires to make this happen with just a little teamwork. I might not have been the ideal candidate to rally the troops, but I sure as hell was going to try.

Solace pulled me in for an even more passionate kiss and I curled into him, filled with fiery passion and a new found determination.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: to be honest I've been a bit worried about this story. It's a very slow pace and i'm trying to incorporate information about OC's from all corners of the universe. Would love to hear what you're thinking.

* * *

Chapter 3: When Nature Holds Its Breath

* * *

 _We're running out of milk and Carina is getting fussy. You need to start weaning her off the tit already, she's not interested in any of the food here._

My mother's text greeted me when I got out the shower. My mother, like most grandmothers, was the epicenter for unwanted parenting advice. Even when I wasn't in La Push she would stalk my blog and social media pages, pointing out potential dangers and things I should change.

Ezra did not enjoy breastfeeding, he self-weaned at barely 8 months but Carina was quite the opposite and I cherished our bonding time. After long days away from her it was the most calming mommy-daughter time and I wouldn't think of trying to wean Carina until she seemed ready. My mother had a more old school perspective on the matter, she scolded me for going back to work so quickly after giving birth and thought of breastfeeding as nothing more than feeding. It was one of the many things she lectured me about, and it made me grateful (for once) not to have a mother-in-law like poor Sammy, who had to listen to both my mom and her mother Trisha as they showered her with unwanted parenting tips.

"We gotta go, Babe," I called down the stairs once I was dressed in a warm comfortable outfit. Overnight the temperature seemed to have dropped at least 15 degrees and it finally felt like fall in the Olympic Peninsula. I had not brought anything warm enough and was left wearing a pair of leggings and my old college hoodie.

"Okay, give me a minute," Solace called from down the hall.

"Where are you?" I called back chuckling. There were three rooms on this floor but we only ever used one and we had never gotten around to setting any of the others up for our kids, as we had once planned. Currently one of the rooms was being used as storage. It was filled to the brim with old art, supplies and other trinkets and when I popped my head in to look for Solace, I was instantly struck by a beautiful, bold abstract painting I'd never seen before. I grabbed it and found two others in the series stacked behind it, before I walked down the hall still in search of Solace.

I found him in my old bed room, standing in a corner inspecting the ceiling above the dingy purple walls. I put down the paintings and spent a moment inspecting the room myself. It looked much more beat up then the last time I bothered venturing in here and my old bedspread was not the only thing that looked worse for the wear. Every surface was lined with dust and there were spots where the lilac paint appeared to be bubbling off the wall. It was still decorated for pre-teen me before my relationship with Solace evolved, so besides a few salvageable pieces of white furniture, it needed a major overhaul.

Truthfully the entire house needed massive updates but we had been hesitant to put money back into it when we spent the majority of our time in New York. We had recently met with a real estate agent, calculating the price per square foot for every decent neighborhood in Manhattan and comparing the neighborhood schools. If we ever wanted to buy a place like Harley's 3 bedroom loft and afford the private montessori schools we were eyeing for our kids, we didn't have a dime to waste on a second home.

We both made good money, had solid savings and investments but the economy was volatile, and decent New York City real estate was at an all time premium. If we sold this house we could easily buy a nice place without draining our savings, so I understood exactly why Solace hadn't told me about the investors offers. A few months back I might have been happy to hand it off it to the highest bidder, but that was before my eyes were opened to the situation in La Push. I had spent the last half hour in the shower imagining a new world of possibilities and none of them included selling this place.

However, we were now faced with several important questions. Could we afford to fix this place and keep it as a summer or vacation house? Should we fix it and try to rent it out to the pack couples planning to move back? Should we come back ourselves? How could a full time life in La Push work for us now? I knew how much Solace craved the serenity of this place and that it would be a good time to settle down for our children's sake, but could I be content taking less gigs? Would I be forced to become a fulltime mother? What other options would I have here?

"I'm here," he answered absent-mindedly, standing on his toes to touch a dark spot on the ceiling as I entered.

"We really need to hire someone to give this place a deep cleaning. We can't have Ezra sleeping in here, that's for sure," I whined. The last three visits we had spent the night in our california king bed as a family but with Ezra and Carina getting bigger it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to share.

"I think they should stay with your parents till we leave," he sighed, turning to face me.

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, my foot catching on a raised floorboard.

"I think there's a leak and possibly mold," he said sniffing the room. "We gotta reach out to David's construction company to get some quotes."

"So what are you thinking?" I asked tentatively.

"What are you thinking?" He asked searching my face expectantly.

If there was one annoying thing about having an imprint it would be this. Our wolves were so dedicated to making sure that everything in our life was perfect, that sometimes it was hard to get them to tell you their true desires. Solace almost always deferred to me in big decisions and right now I had so many ideas swirling through my mind that I needed a contributor.

"I'm thinking a million things at once, but right now I'm thinking that I really need my husband to tell me what he wants to do with this house. We could fix the roof and remove mold but that would just be the tip of the iceberg. I don't want to sell and I think that you kept it from me because you didn't want sell either, so what do you really want? What would the perfect scenario be for you Sol?" I asked, stomping my foot for emphasis.

"Honestly Maddz, I'm 71 years old and two of the people I love most in the whole world are dying. I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask about life changing decisions right now. You're 36 you have a lot more fight left in you and I'm just trying to grasp the fact that one day I'll be coming back here for the death of my very best friend of 60 odd years," Solace said more assertively than I was used to from my calm and collected husband.

"Okay, then what do you wanna do Babe? What should our plan be?" I pressed, excited to be breaking into the deep hidden world of his thoughts.

"I don't know… I don't know if I have the energy to plan. I want to do whatever makes you happy but I feel like I have lived 4 full lives with five separate careers and I just want to retire, not just from phasing but from everything. I just want to build a jungle gym in our backyard and settle down on a comfy chair where I can watch my kids and my inevitable grandkids grow up," Solace rambled, sounding haggard. I could hear the age and weariness in every syllable.

"Then let's tell David tonight, let's see what they can do to get this place ready for us as soon as possible," I said simply. Solace's face went pale and for a second I thought I'd said the wrong thing, but after searching my eyes for a long moment his beautiful face broke into a dazzling smile.

"Mark and Trisha are hosting dinner at Jared and Kim's," Solace said through his wide smile. "I'll ask tonight"

.X*X.

"Momma!" Ezra's shrill scream pierced my heart and I ran past several people attempting to greet me without sparing them a glance. I was locked in on my baby.

Ezra leapt into my arms and I spun him, kissing him with gusto. He laughed and wiggled but I held on tight, taking another spin around the room to look for Carina. She sat on the floor in an unfamiliar green sweater dress combo, her chubby baby rolled thighs were spread with a wide array of toys in front of her. Across from her was sat beautiful 4 year old cousin Starr in a matching blue outfit. I did a double take before barrelling past Solace in search of Harley.

Five-foot-two Harley nearly tackled my fat butt to the floor. She jumped on me, pulling me into a fierce hug. We didn't speak for a long time, just held each other tight, even tighter after Solace freed Ezra from being sandwiched between us.

"I thought you were going to New Zealand, Lee," I whispered, not calling attention to the tear drops that were soaking the front of my shirt. Unlike me Harley was not a crier, I cried more in one year that Harley probably did in her entire life and she hated any displays of weakness.

"She's not doing the film. Fox was being ridiculous about moving it back, so they are going with another director," her husband Jett informed me, leaning in to kiss my forehead over Harley's hidden face.

"And the fuckers are making me pay a multiple-million dollar contract termination fee. I told them to give me two fucking weeks, my second mother is dying here and they were like 'oh sorry but it's just not possible Ateara', then I hear they've replaced me some Hong Kong director that won't be available until next month anyways!" She howled, pulling back to reveal her smudged liner and scrunched face.

"Watch your mouth!" My mom admonished.

We shared a look, the look we gave whenever our mother came to New York and proceeded to tell us everything wrong with our apartments, and broke out in a fit of hushed giggles.

"Sorry mom," Lee placated our mother who watched us with her hand on her ample hips. In her youth my mother was like Harley, petite and very slim with soft feminine curves and angelic features. After three children and three decades, her body was more similar to mine with exaggerated curves and no shortage of soft flesh.

"And it's cold, neither of you brought appropriate clothes for these girls. You're lucky Trisha never threw out anything from her girls," my mom scolded, pointing to a box of colorful winter-weight girls clothing.

"Oh that's sweet of her, did she come over earlier? Solace and I need to talk to David about our house," I said trying to ease the tension. When my mother was sad or anxious she became increasingly irritable and though it was annoying, I tried to be understanding now. Kim was like my mother's most beloved big sister.

"Oh yeah?" My mother perked up. My father stood up and joined the conversation with interest.

"You're not selling right?" He asked, eyes on Solace behind me.

"No, we're thinking about fixing it up… and if we can get it done in time maybe moving back after I finish up my last few gigs," I said it like a question looking to Solace for confirmation.

We had not set any date and he managed my schedule. He looked over joyed. There were actually tears of joy in his eyes, which I had not seen since the birth of our son. He kissed Ezra twice, big smooches right on the cheek and when that wasn't enough he gave him another.

My mother, who I had expected to beam and exclaim with joy, looked pensive instead. She nodded her head, her eyes growing shiny and watery as she moved.

"Why cry mi-maw?" Ezra asked reaching for my mother and her hard shell cracked. She hugged my husband, resting her head against Ezra who gently pet her white hair as she sobbed.

"Mi-maw is just happy baby boy, Mi-maw is really happy," she said softly but I could see the anguish in her eyes. My father pried her away, cradling her in his chest where she fit perfectly. He swayed with her side to side, turning her away from the children so they wouldn't see her steady stream of tears.

"I've got you," he assured her and it reminded me so much of the way Solace comforted me, my heart swelled.

"I'm fine, I'm happy everyone is home… I just wish it wasn't for this," she apologized, hiding her face in my father's chest.

"Well you know you're gonna have to plug it up for lunch, Kim warned us already, no crying around her. She agreed to let me film her but only if I promised to punch the first person who tried boo-hooing over her. I gotta keep a promise to a dying woman, it's the law," Harley joked, patting our mother's arm, she laughed and the sound was muffled against my father's sweater.

"You went to see her already?" I asked picking Carina up as she started to whine for me.

"Yeah, she's up an about and bossing everyone around, you know her old Kim-self," Harley joked and she wasn't wrong. When we arrive at Kim's house for dinner I was surprised to find her out of bed, up and about on her own, looking brighter and more vibrant than the night before.

The entire house and the surrounding lawn was packed and there was a roar of sound as soon as we parked. Solace and Carina were pulled into by Seth and soon he was engrossed in a conversation with him and his wife Jessy.

Soledad and Randy grabbed me as soon as I let Ezra down to run and play. Though we kept up with their whereabouts through my mother it had been several years since Soli and I had been together. We had missed the Christmas four years ago when their son Tristan imprinted on Amber's daughter Juliana who had come to La Push for the holiday. Soon after Soli and Randy left the Cullen mansion they had been calling home and followed Amber's family to a small town on the coast of Croatia where Ethan and Taylor had also settled with their spouses and children.

With so many unfamiliar young faces in the crowd Soli had to point out her teenage children, who looked not much younger than herself. They were standing with Juliana and another trio of teens I recognized from my sister-in-law Sammy's mantle, where she kept picture of all her nieces and nephews.

They were Krys and Sarah's children: the oldest Aki was a part of the La Push pack and the younger twins, Alana and Reno looked to be in the middle of their gangly awkward early teen phase. As I watched, Tristan (who took so much after his father) pulled Juliana to his side. With a big cheesy smile he brushed back her long curtain of brown hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek so gently, my heart swelled.

"Disgustingly cute, huh?" Soli elbowed me as I watched on.

"Yeah, can't believe how old they've all gotten," I winced. Nothing makes you feel older than seeing children you babysat turn into young adults.

"Tell me about it, Tris is 18 and Ivory will be 15 next month. We're going to have to change our cover story soon. We can't pass for their parents anymore," Randy sighed, shaking his perpetual baby face.

"I thought you guys had built your own little compound in Croatia, do you still need cover stories?" I asked, curious about the community they had created.

"You haven't heard?" Soli asked, cocking her head to the side. "Amber and Ethan are moving back to La Push, and where Juliana goes Tristan goes… so I guess we're back here for a while."

"Us too," I announced as Kai and Hope joined us on the front lawn.

"Seriously?" Kai exclaimed, pulling me into a warm hug when I nodded.

"If I knew that it would bring everyone back, I would have died sooner," Kim joked, leaning into Jared who stood closely behind her.

As if she were the sun, there was large group orbiting around as she made her through the crowd greeting and chatting with people. None of them laughed at her morbid humor; Annabelle clutched her stomach as if she had been kicked and Emily's ravaged smile quickly morphed into a look of devastation.

"Be a good boy and get this fire going will ya Ace?" Kim bent down, patting her grandson on the head and his two younger brothers Brad and Jax nodded with him, running to get wood for the fire pit near the weighed down buffet table. Behind them at the buffet table Mark and Trisha stood animatedly chatting with my mother as they added even more food to the array.

Kim's orbital pool quickly grew when she took her throne near the firepit. Melody and Anna who had been playing guitar in a circle with Levi and his wife Krista, and their beautiful daughters Blossom and Willow, stopped playing instantly. Everyone turned to Kim expectantly. Conversations quieted quickly and I searched for Ezra only to find him already sitting Indian style looking up at Kim in awe as she cleared her throat and began as she always did, "Many years ago our ancestors settled in La Push where they became fisherman and shipbuilders."

With Kim's soothing rich voice in the background I followed the tug behind my navel to Solace who sat with Carina, next to Harley and a small tripod. I plopped down on his side and leaned into his warmth allowing myself to be transported in time. With each new character or twist in the tale I envisioned another of the wolves I had grown up with.

When Kim began the tale of the third wife, in my head she became Emily and the aged Taha Aki became Sam Uley. My mother sat down at my side in the grass with a bit of effort and leaned into me, and as the last rays of sun cast pink light onto the night, I became even more entranced with her words. There were no other sounds but her voice, everyone and everything was deathly silent, as if nature knew the significance of this night and held their breath for her.

Harley turned on a small but powerful light on her tripod when the sky darkened but no one seemed to notice and Kim's tales continued. Kim's voice seemed to grow weaker as the stories became more contemporary and she told of the treaty and then the return of the Cullen clan. Then suddenly there was a new tale, one I'd hear Solace reminiscing about but never heard told at the campfire. Kim told the story of the largest pack in history, training and joining forces with the vegetarian coven, preparing to face the ultimate battle.

My eyes watered looking around the crowd. I was sitting among living legends, men in all stages of life who had put their lives on the line, including my father who stood with Sam and Collin across from me and my perfect husband beside me. My resolve to preserve La Push in any way I could grew stronger.

Embry, Leticia, Jake and Nessie arrived just as Kim told the story of Annabelle's kidnapping and Devlin's death. Her voice had become hoarse when she finally finished and she struggled to stand and greet them, though her excitement was evident. Each new arrival hugged her tightly, and soon Jake, large and broad as ever, picked Kim's up gently and took her toward the house.

"I love you, Kim! Love you Jared," Helen called from across the lawn where she stood next to her wolf Collin.

A chorus of I love yous and goodnights filled the air and at the top of the stairs Kim turned back to wave us all away. Jared smiled and bowed slightly.

"I love you all so much! Now get off my lawn," she grumbled, waving and blowing a few kisses for good measure. My mother half laughed and half sobbed, grabbing one of the air kisses and bringing it to her chest.

Without discussion we collected our children and followed my parents home. Chattering Starr, clung to Grandpa asking a million questions with a thick lisp as we walked. Harley trailed behind the group, wearing a big set of headphones as she re-watched her footage of Kim, Jett watched over her shoulder.

By the time we made it to out front door Starr was still talking a mile a minute but both of my munchkins were sleeping. I followed Solace to my old bedroom where we laid Carina in her portable cradle and tucked Ezra in.

"Did you get to talk to David," I asked. I was so tired I eyed the bed, calculating the minimum amount of space needed for us both to sleep here and not have to drag ourselves across town. As if reading my mind, he grab the spare blanket at the foot of the bed and laid it on the floor.

"I'll sleep on the floor, don't worry about it I'm too tired to go back to that mess," he exclaimed pulling off his shirt and settling in on the floor. The sight of his bare chest still made my heart pitter-patter after all these years and he winked at me cheekily.

"Momma," Ezra whined beckoning me to the bed, before rolling over and knocking out. I laid down with my head at the foot of the bed to face my husband. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

"David said his crew can be here by Monday for the roof, then Friday the 29th for a complete overhaul of the rest but we would need to clear the place out and make some decisions on the materials and layout before we leave," Solace whispered, leaving soft kisses on my knuckles.

"When do we have to leave? What are my next projects?" I asked, watching as he reached for his phone to look at our calendar.

"Let's see... it Saturday the 15th and your next gig is Shanghai fashion week starting the 27th, after that it's a private portrait with that Singaporean family, the ones that are flying us in on their private jet, remember them?" He asked looking through the details.

I nodded, remembering the snaps of the over the top couture gowns Mrs. Leung had sent me, as well as the pictures of her lavish home which would serve as the backdrop for her glamor shots.

"Those are both big money we can't cancel, so we have essentially four days to clear out everything," I sighed heavily.

"Kai and Harrison offered to do it for some extra cash, you just gotta put post-its on whatever you wanna keep," he said sitting up to kiss me gently.

"You think of everything. What would I do without you?" I beamed and before he could answer his phone lit up and chirped in his hand.

He looked at the message, inhaled loudly and closed his eyes for a long time. When he looked up at me with his dark haunted eyes I knew what the pain meant but I ripped the phone from his hand anyway to read it myself; it was from Kai.

 _Dad, they're gone. They're both at peace._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have put a link to the wolf pack family tree on my profile you can find it here-

familyecho.

com/

?p=START&c=ls51m45o8e&f=586533354123949577

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Chapter 4: Keep, Donate, Toss, Mom

* * *

"Mom you can't take everything, where are you going to fit it all?" I whined as my mother put a blue post-it on yet another piece of furniture.

While Solace stayed with the rest of my family and pack at the Uley house where everyone had assembled to mourn, I decided to spend a few hours sorting through the mess of our house. I couldn't stay in that cramped space listening to anymore 'remember whens' and I needed a distraction. I needed to be making myself useful and with all the wolf-girls tending to the Cameron family needs, I worked on the immediate needs of my family.

My mind had been reeling since we received the text from Kai late last night and I couldn't stand still; my mother was on the same page. We didn't mention Kim. We didn't talk about anything, we immersed ourselves at the task at hand. My mother and I were more alike than we liked to admit.

Solace and I were perfectly complementary as a couple, both very passionate and affectionate, but we expressed passion differently especially in times of adversity. When I was upset, I needed to do: I needed to make art or food, I need to be physically active and organize or beautify things. Solace's relief came verbally. He needed to give voice to the deep inner emotions that flowed through him before he drowned in them. After Kai's text Solace and I squeezed into my old bed, with Ezra cuddled between us and Solace cried into my hair until after a bit of pushing, the words started to pour out.

I'd always known Jared and Kim in a specific way. Jared was always the solid, dependable, family man, with well known skills in carpentry and baking. Kim was always the straight shooting, powerhouse who everyone went to for advice. Together as a couple they were always entirely devoted, passionately in love and in sync. So it came as a surprise to listen as Solace recalled their rocky early courtship and their struggles as young parents.

Kim and Jared weren't always the wise couple that had it all figured out, and that was somewhat comforting. Mark was the pack alpha of my childhood and Freddie the alpha of my adult life, so hearing stories of the early years when Sam was the authority figure and decision maker was like a history lesson. There was one constant though, it seemed that even the Kim and Jared of Solace's memories were always the backbone of the pack.

I learned a lot listening as Solace bared his soul. I hadn't known that Kim and Jared took in Krys who was just 13 when he phased for the first time. I didn't know that Kim had known Jordan and Michael before they joined the pack, and that she watched after them when they lost their last family members. I didn't know that when Leah broke Solace's heart it was Jared and Kim who convinced Solace to move back to La Push, where he grew close to young Amber. It hurt me that I had never thought to ask Kim about her life. Like a mythical figure it always felt like Kim had sprung into creation as the perfect antidote to all that ails you, and Jared was a perfect match created just for her.

Though we had come back to say our goodbyes it didn't make the shock of mortality any less violent. I tried to stay by Solace's side as his shoulder to lean on but when the sadness hit me so hard it stole my breath, I fled the Uley house with my mother at my heel. The only thing that helped right now was keeping busy. So after raiding my father's study of every color of post-it available, we made a system.

Red post-it: Keep

Green post-it: Donate

Yellow post-it: Toss

Blue post-it: Mom

Currently the blues were in the lead. We were half way through the first floor and the only big thing I felt like salvaging for myself was the solid oak dining room set with intricately carved legs and matching chairs. My mother on the other hand followed me changing most yellows to blue.

"Do you know how many people in town would love a barely used sectional couch from some fancy company? Or one of my beautiful original watercolors?" She asked a little huffily, as she switched out a green post-it on the canvas in the dining room to blue.

"You made that mom?" I asked taking another look at the soft impressionist style watercolor. As I inspected it the cliffs off of First Beach came into view, and in the distance the sun bleached logs we used to gather around for bonfires came to life.

"Yeah, I painted it for Solace before you were born to put up in his apartment in Seattle," she said joining me as I looked at the large picture with renewed interest.

"Were you friends?" I asked skeptically. I had never really thought about their relationship before I came into the picture. I knew that he and my father had been friends but my mother would have been a teenager the first time Solace left La Push.

"Oh yeah! Every girl was friends with Solace, he was Mr. Suave," my mother chuckled, elbowing me. "Emily was probably the only woman he didn't make blush."

"Even though you had Dad? Mom that's so scandalous," I giggled taking the blue post-it off and replacing it with a red one.

"I was imprinted not blind, of course Solace made me swoon. And you don't have to keep it because of me," she said slapping my hand away from the painting but I pressed the red 'keep' post-it more securely.

"No, I want it," I insisted, taking a second look at the rest of the art in the open concept house.

"Noticing a pattern?" She remarked standing next to me as I appraised each piece. From my spot in the dining room I could see the three paintings lining the entrance and the massive gallery wall in the living room. Almost every painting was a different style and medium but there was a distinct flavor that connected them.

"You painted all of these for him?" I asked a bit taken back. On the living room gallery wall, interspersed with photographs of his travels and the pack there were several paintings in all different sizes and themes, including a charcoal sketched picture of Solace's profile; I had never taken a minute to think of where they had all come from.

"Mmm, I guess I felt a bit of a connection to him… I don't know if there's a science to it but even before you were born there was always a bit of a draw to Solace, your dad felt it too, he always liked Solace. I showed that affection through art. He probably has dozen and dozens of other drawings and paintings around here," my mom said opening the pantry and scrunching her nose when she found it empty, save for a mouse trap.

"Wait, wait are these yours," I asked running up the stairs and rushing back down with the three canvases I'd put to the side a few nights back.

"Yeah, those three were a part of a series, they go with the three in the entrance," she said walking down the hall to stand in front of them.

I placed the three canvases that had bewitched me on the floor leaning them against the wall to compare them to the three already on the wall. Both sets of three were done on 10 by 10 canvases, in oil paints that was heavily textured, my mother having used so much paint it was almost three dimensional.

They were both very bold and eye catching but the three hanging in the hall didn't evoke the same emotion as the aqua blue and silver set on the floor. Of the three hanging on the wall two had had green 'donate' post-its on them which matched the color scheme of the paintings so much they almost blended in. I'd put a red post-it on the center painting which I considered keeping for Ezra's new bedroom, but I wasn't married to it the way I was obsessed with the blue pieces on the floor. My mother had become a commercially successful artist when I was a toddler through digital designs and handmade fabric patterns, I was not use to seeing abstract work from her.

"These are so unlike you. What was the inspiration?" I asked curiously. While I could see hints of her feminine style, it was a lot bolder and more frantic then her generally flowing patterns and serene prints.

"You," She said simply, smiling as she leaned forward to examine them more closely. "Amber commissioned me to do artwork for the halls on both floors but I'll let you in on a secret. I just took pieces these out of storage."

"Mom," I chided laughing.

"What? No one specified they had to be brand new art and these were special because they were partially yours," she said picking up one of the blue canvases off the floor and turning it over to reveal a tiny silver thumb print.

"Is that?" I trailed off, pressing my thumb to the fingerprint, covering it entirely. She nodded.

"Before you were born I was working part-time at school as an art counselor and making art to sell at fairs on the weekend, but when you were born we couldn't really afford for me to only work part-time, so I had to work full time. I hated it. I hated being away from you and I felt like the worst mother ever," she paused looking at me. She looked younger speaking about it, her white streaked hair framing her big brown eyes like a halo.

"You felt like a bad mom? I guess I'm not alone." I was shocked to hear it and also relieved.

I didn't have any close friends with children and even with my own sister it was hard to admit how much I beat myself about everything. Not many days went by when I didn't question my mothering skills, especially when Solace was such a natural born father and was desperate for more children. My mother had done an excellent job raising us, she was the stricter of my parents which I didn't appreciate as a teen, but if even she doubted herself maybe I wasn't doing so bad.

"Oh god yes, I would cry in the shower almost every night for the first month you were born. I had prayed and planned for you for so long, then when you came I was so lost. If it wasn't for the wolf-girls, I don't know if I would have had more children. Kim and Rachel would talk me off the ledge all the time. You were only 8 months old when I went back to work and I missed so many of your milestones," she sighed.

"Is that why you're always nagging me about working?" I asked cautiously as I added keep post-its to the other hanging paintings. My mother had strongly held opinions about being a mother and I never confronted her about them, primarily because I didn't feel confident enough in my own ability to question her.

"I'm not try to nag you Maddie, I'm seriously not, but I missed so much because I was working to live. You and Lee have a luxury that I didn't have until I was pregnant with Addison, you can afford to take time off and enjoy being a mother. Trust me no amount of money could ever be traded in for all the things I missed with you. I missed your first steps and your first words, and personally I lost my creativity. I couldn't raise you, work full time and still have the energy to create meaningful art," she said putting blue post-its on a set of gray suede high-back armchairs that I was eyeballing with distaste.

I had missed those milestones with both Ezra and Carina, as well. Solace was diligent about recording everything, so I had convinced myself that it wasn't a big deal but looking back at it gave me a sudden rush of sadness. Ezra advanced particularly quickly. His first steps were followed very quickly with running. His first words morphed rapidly into full sentences. At this point Carina's vocabulary consisted of Mama, Papa and milky, but how long before she was sharing inside jokes with Papa the way Ezra did?

"Then how did you get your creative groove back?" I asked opening the door to the 4th bedroom, which Solace had turned into a library no one ever used. Two of the walls were lined with ceiling height thick wooden bookshelves and every shelf was lined with books, some still wrapped in plastic. I pulled one out and there was the tell-tale binding crack of a brand new book.

"I was doing an after school program with the town kids for extra cash. Monday, Wednesday and Friday like clockwork Leticia or Emily, whoever was watching you that day, would bring you over in a pair of paint covered overalls and you would fingerpaint with the rest of the kids. I swear you were not even half their age but you had a better eye for color and contrast than all of them. Those paintings all started out as your finger paintings, they were so vivid and alive like you," she paused, looking at me lovingly.

"I started collaborating with you. I would sit you down with colors I wanted to work with then I finished them at night after you went to bed. They were so vivid they inspired me to make patterns and I got my groove back. I kept all of our early collabs in storage and when I was asked for artwork to fill Solace's giant house I made sure every room had a piece of you in it," she said pointing a small pencil drawing of a small girl with pigtails and round chubby cheeks. I recognized the dress from old pictures of me _as_ a child and unexpectedly my eyes teared.

I turned away and leaned into the picture, recognizing my mothers small scribbled signature. On the small table, next to the sketch of me, was a stack of leather bound journals. I picked one up, flipping to the middle. It was a journal and I recognized the small neat writing instantly.

In the first journal I found this quick entry:

 _Friday June 10th, 2020*_

 _The Volturi have fallen, with the help of the Cullens and a handful of other vamps we have defeated an ancient coven of the most powerful vampires in the world. Everyone is celebrating another big win, Jake and Nessie are planning their wedding, the rest of the pack feel invincible but I'm not so sure this is a victory._

 _We risked our lives yet again but we've put ourselves farther out into the supernatural world. We have have basically created a marker on the map for other vampires and whatever else exists out there to find us, to challenge us. This is the largest pack in history but not for long. Jake and Leah have already splintered off and in the fall six more of us will leave if we can… if fate or Sam don't stop us._

And in a second, thicker journal I found this:

 _Saturday August 26th, 2022**_

 _Phil and I drove down to La Push for the birth of Anna and Michael's triplets Thursday night, only to be confronted with a whirlwind of pack drama that I would rather not be involved in. Quil and Claire let us stay in the spare bedrooms above the shop where they now live and when we arrived Quil filled us in on all the things we were "missing". I missed La Push often, I missed the sound of waves and the comfort of living among people who shared an ancient history, but I never missed this. I loved everyone in this pack, blood relations or not, but I didn't have the energy for drama anymore. I turn 30 in a few weeks but as far as love and drama are concerned I've had more than my fair share for a lifetime._

 _For the last two years I have lived in Leah's world of yoga and meditation, self discovery and peace. She helped me reclaim my life. Which is why I know it was awful for me to be so excited to return home for the birth of my first love's triplets, on a mission to imprint. It felt like a betrayal to even pray for it, knowing it would hurt Leah but I've watched two generations of wolves find their match and I'm getting desperate._

 _Leah is very clear. She tells me often that she will never truly let me into her heart. So no matter how dedicated I am to her, I need to be selfish. But with each passing imprint my anxiety grows. Have I spread myself too thin? Do I not have enough love left in my body to be worthy of a partner? Have I missed an opportunity or a cue that would have lead me to my perfect match?_

 _I had been foolish enough to dream that this baby girl might be the one, because though my love for Anna has evolved into that of a little sister it was still very present. Instead I pinched baby Melody gently, desperate to look into her eyes and watched on as Mark got his heart obliterated. Jared's son Taylor imprinted on her. Mark was in love with Taylor. I walked into more drama that I could not avoid._

 _It happened quickly and before I could even register my own disappointment I was dragging Mark through the hospital doors, past a hospital lobby filled to the brim with nosey wolves and wives. After my mother died I was left with only four family members: Sam, Embry and Sam's twin boys Mark and David, but only I knew this connection. So instead of spending the night licking my wounds I was able to be there for my nephew in a time of need, to bond with one of my only remaining relations, it was suitable consolation prize. For now._

"Do you think you should be reading those?" My mother asked looking over my shoulder as I flipped to the front inside cover where 2022-2023 was written.

"Wouldn't you want to read something of Dad's before he imprinted on you?" I asked waving it in front of her like a tempting treat.

"Quil was 16 when he imprinted on me, I doubt he had much interesting to write about," she chuckled twirling around the room with interest.

"Well I'm keeping these anyways," I said throwing the stack of journals into a small keep box in the hall.

"So you have the three bedrooms upstairs are you keeping this as a library? Looks like it's the only room that doesn't need a lot of work," she appraised the room, taking a seat in the luxurious soft leather loveseat. The room had been designed like an old smoking room, very manly and while it would have been perfect for a bibliophile or writer like Jordan I couldn't see it being useful for a family of four.

"I think we'll probably set it up as a guest room, and hopefully we can turn it into a nursery at some point," I said inspecting the sturdy looking bookshelves and thinking of ways to repurpose them.

"Wait are you guys going to try to have another baby?" My mom asked dropping the stack of post-its in her hand in excitement. I nodded and she launched herself at me.

"Mom, I can't breathe," I whined but she just squeezed me harder. I hugged her back and before long her grip loosened and her breathing became laboured. I didn't let her go, I held her as her tears soaked through the shoulder of my t-shirt and I hushed her as her sobs filled the room painfully.

"Are you really coming back?" My mother's voice was so small and fragile when she finally spoke it broke my heart.

"Yes, Mom I swear before the end of the year we'll get settled in," I promised, setting a date for the first time. She pulled back to look me in the eyes, hers were red and puffy.

"You're an amazing mother, don't doubt yourself I'm so proud of you," she said seriously, rushing to wipe away her newly formed tears.

"You were too mom, you were the best."

.X*X.X*X.X*X.X*X.X*X.

A/N:

* This journal entry coincides with Chapters 20-22 of Enough With This Gravity Moving Already!

** This journal entry coincides with Chapter 14 of Pathetic Ramblings of a Homosexual Werewolf.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: FYI I posted a family tree on my profile if any of these people are unfamiliar or you just wanna look at it all in one place. Next chapter will be the last. I wrote the last two paragraphs last night and cried my eyes out when I finally got the last line just right, lol. I'm a sap.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Roots of Our Family Tree

* * *

True to form, Kim planned every detail for the Cameron funeral to the tee, with optimum consideration for her children and the pack. There was no viewing or funeral home and instead of a traditional wake held at their house, Kim made a deal with the owners of The River's Edge restaurant overlooking the Quileute Marina.

She must not have known the massive influence they had on the town though, because despite setting up several extra tables outside and seating on the marina the gathering spilled out far beyond the restaurant. We mingled with a lot of familiar faces, including a girl I graduated with. I watched her face flash in surprise and desire when I introduced her to Solace but instead of the jealousy that desire once elicited in me, now I only felt a tinge of pride.

There was a long line to enter because beside every member of the pack (past and present) and their families, teenagers Kim advised and counselled through the years (now grown with children of their own) returned in droves. Kim and Jared's old classmates and co-workers, business owners from La Push and even representatives from the Association on American Indian Affairs filed into town.

Following the written instructions to the letter, Kim and Jared's six "babies" Ethan, Taylor, Amber, Annabelle, Kim's brother Matthew and Krys stood at the entrance greeting guests, passing out small programs and accepting well wishes.

Ethan, Taylor and Matthew all dressed in finely tailored suits held their composure admirably. Amber like a statue of an exotic goddess, nodded and bowed graciously, accepting words of consolation though her beautiful face was skewed with pain. Krys and Annabelle however, stood at the end of the line crying heavily and holding onto each other tightly as groups of people continued to pour in.

I thought of things to say to them as I waited to reach the door but the general 'I'm sorry for your loss' seemed so hollow and instead I just held them all one by one. Krys thanked me and with shaking hands passed me the blue tri-fold handouts when I reached the end of the line. Inside, besides a humorously written obituary and a beautifully taken family photo, was a plea to save the Quileute Teen Center asking for donations to the QTC in lieu of flowers. To the right of the door, sitting at a table with Hope, Kai held a donation box with blueprints and sketches of the planned structure. Much like his father Kai had a deadly smirk, which he was using to draw in donations; from unsuspecting women; Hope watched on in bemused silence.

After consulting with our savings account Solace wrote a generous check but seeing the gorgeous sketches and my brother's signature on the blueprints piqued my interest even more. According to the signage the new Quileute Center had been in the planning stages for three years and once finished would serve the entire community. If completed, it would be triple the size of the old blue building and would have so much more than a teen space with counselling services. The new center would include a large community event space overlooking an organic community garden, a new clinic space for the town's only full-time general physician Hazel Uley-Varn, and a state of the art library to replace the old La Push Library that closed 4 years back.

Helen who had been the town librarian until its closing and Rachel, a retired school teacher, worked tirelessly to keep the library open but when the building was deemed beyond repair and the land was taken back they had to get creative. There was no budget to rebuild so they saved whatever books they could and moved them into a trailer, creating a mobile library that Trisha now volunteered in. I had become so engrossed in the signs and the plans I barely noticed when Solace left my side with Carina to mingle.

"It's pretty impressive huh, your brother's super talented," Hope said conversationally as I bent to look at the panoramic view. It was very impressive. From the front it resembled a large beachside resort but from above you could see the huge skylights and subtle separations of space. There were separate entrances and exits for privacy between the three different areas, but all of them lead out to a beautiful garden. It was classic and modern, while still paying homage to the old QTC with the same signature blue siding and bright white trim, but it was also massive.

"Yeah, it's incredible but how would it fit? There's the old Jackson house and the Schumack Mill on either side of the QTC, right?" I asked examining it closer. Hope shrugged as a large frame cast a shadow over the blueprints.

"Well that's the real problem Maddox. We've got most of the money to build and we can get the rest if we pushed. We've even got funding to keep it going for at least another decade but we don't have the land. My girls Charlie and Cooper own the Schumack Mill, they flipped it a few years back into a bed and breakfast… they might be willing to sell but the Jackson kids already sold their dad's house to Collak Developers and they're holding it hostage," David Uley said coming to my side to point out the land division in the sketches on the table.

Rachel and Trisha sensing a turn in the conversation pulled me into their circle nearby where they had formed with Emily, Leticia and Helen. It seemed they were already deep in the same discussion.

"What do they want in return for the old Jackson house?" I asked dubiously.

"They want the tribal council to approve their plans to tear down Quileute Tribal school. So they can use that waterfront property to build a seaside tourist trap, complete with a casino and a sushi bar," Trisha said bitterly.

"And then what? Ju just won't have a school?" Leticia asked in disbelief, Rachel nodded.

"Come on this is place is tiny why would be need a luxury anything? When we get tourists it's for the beaches and whales, occasionally surfing. I mean sushi would be nice but they come for leisure not _gambling_ ," I scoffed but when I was met with their serious faces I was taken aback.

"Not to mention what a casino would do the old folks that already live here. They'd spend their whole social security on the slots," Trisha agreed.

"Tribal council is seriously considering it though, we've been underfunded for years and when they rezoned us government funding was reduced. A casino could bring in a fresh revenue and jobs, or at least that's how they're trying to spin it," Helen fumed.

It seemed like at every turn we were faced with more problems and few solutions. The population was dwindling, the school was under-populated, the library had closed, the tribe was underfunded, the clinic was outdated and all of that added up to a La Push that was ripe for being bought and picked apart by developers.

"Hello everyone, if I could just get your attention," Taylor called above the crowd. He stood in the corner, flanked by his siblings and uncle. He moved to shout again but a waitress rushed forward and passed him a microphone that squeaked softly when he clicked it to life.

"My family wanted to first thank everyone for being here and say a few words," he continued, looking around uncertain how to continue.

"Is that her son?" A woman I didn't recognized stage whispered behind us.

"Gotta be one of her grandkids," another unfamiliar voice answered. Taylor looked out into the audience, his rich soulful eyes darkening before he passed the mic to Annabelle who stood on a step stool to be seen over the crowd.

"If you knew my parents you knew they were simple, loving people who dedicated their lives to service and family. It's natural for us to mourn their loss, they touched all of our lives but above all else they didn't want this to be a sad day. So reconnect with old friends and make a few new ones. They wanted this to be a celebration of La Push and of the heritage they were both so proud of. Thank you again for coming, please eat and drink and laugh, my parents would have wanted it that way," Annie rushed the last sentence, as tears began to floor her eyes.

When she left the stage my mother, Elena and Nessie who had been deep in conversation since we arrived, pulled Annie into their circle, hugging and comforting her.

"There's also potlatch on the beach after this is done, just for the pack," Emily said to the circle quietly.

"A pot-lash?" Leticia asked with a thick and adorable accent.

The crowd was slowly starting to disperse and through a gap in people I could see Harley and Jett on the other side of the wall of windows overlooking the pier. Each of them was holding one of our daughters, pointing and laughing at a trio of sunbathing otters. Carina was clapping her chubby little hands, her mouth open wide in excitement and Starr could barely be contained. She hopped up and down in her fathers arms, reaching for the otters that were half way down the pier, as if she could reach them with pure force of will.

"A potlatch is a traditional Quileute ceremony, it's a redistribution of wealth. I don't think we've had one since I was little," Rachel explained, following my eyes to Carina and Harley on the pier. "Is it going to be hard for you to move back to La Push with your sister in New York?"

Rachel's question caught me off guard and before I could formulate a response Helen's heads whipped around to face me.

"You're moving back too?" Helen beamed, I nodded.

"Us too but I'm not sure how wise that is. You know a face as beautiful as mine is hard to forget," Leticia said with a wink, but she wasn't wrong. Leticia shone with an inner light like a salt water pearl and after all these years her beauty remained untouched, it was nearly disarming. For so many years I watched her closely, envious of her perfection and worried about her history with Solace, but now hearing she would be another familiar face in town was reassuring.

"You too Letty? Guys, we really need to up our wolf-girl gossip game I'm so behind," Emily mused and Trisha who stood next to her burst into a bright peel of laughter. I joined her.

"Em you sounded just like Kim for a minute there," Rachel said covering her mouth to stifle laughter as the few stragglers remaining began to turn and look at us disapprovingly.

A large group of tanned children whizzed past us. Icould just decipher Erza's shaggy hair in the herd but there were so many other faces that I could not place. Across the room Solace caught my eye, mouthed 'I love you' and blew me a kiss. He stood shoulder to shoulder with his half-brothers Sam and Embry, and seeing them lined up like this for the first time I saw their resemblance. There was a subtle curve to their cheeks and jaws, and a depth to their chocolate brown eyes that marked them as family. In unison they took a chug of their drinks and I smiled wider.

"We should start up wolf-girl brunches again," Trisha suggested.

"Yes, please we haven't had one in years," Emily agreed putting her arm around Trisha's shoulder.

"I'll host once my place is finished, because I can't cook for shit," I volunteered, excited at the prospect of having a group of girlfriends for the first time since college. In truth, I never really clicked with any the many mommy support groups and artist circles I tried to join in Los Angeles or New York. Most of my socialization came from Harley and her small clique of jetset entertainment friends but they were only passing acquaintances and deep down I never felt the calmness I did standing with these women.

"I'm going to miss Jared's french toast," Helen said suddenly, her voice was thick with sadness.

"I'm going to miss his scones," Rachel added, quickly wiping away a tear before it could fall.

"I'm going to miss his laugh," I added and as if I had always been a member of this sisterhood they embraced me.

In a tangle of limbs we all hugged. I don't know who started crying first, but we didn't stop until each of our wolves came to comfort us and our tears finally ran dry.

The last red and orange rays of the sun created a spotlight for us as we marched together to the beach. Harley returned Carina to me, fussy and ready for a feeding, which I did on a old white log overlooking the shore. When she was full she cuddled back into me, hiding her face in the nape of my neck. It was quiet and peaceful.

In New York or Los Angeles I always watched my children like hawks wherever we went but it was so calming to see Ezra running and screaming and playing freely without me having to worry. He was surrounded by men and women who I knew would love and protect my him as their own.

Harley sat down next to me and in pairs all around me people settled in the sand. Jake worked with Seth to build a fire and Ethan's son Emmett stepped away from his sisters Emilia and Evangeline to help them. When Jake and Seth went to back to join their imprints Emmett was left alone, standing in front of the crowd. The sunlight finally faded. Emmett cleared his throat, grabbed a duffle bag which he placed carefully by the fire and unfolded a piece of paper from his back pocket.

Genetics are a complicated, funny thing. While his mother Elena took after her grandfather Edward Cullen, slender and fair with auburn hair. Emmett took after his maternal grandfather Jacob Black, so much so they could pass for brothers like Kai and Solace. He had phased many years back and was a part of the European pack so like all the wolves he was larger than the average man, but Emmett surpassed most of the wolves as well. He stood at least six foot five with shoulders so broad, and arms so thick, they looked supernatural. His honey tanned face was soft and youthful like Jake's and the only traces of his father Ethan could be seen in his long black lashes and thick pillowy lips.

"Geez, that's a mountain I'd like to climb," Harley whispered in my ear. I clutched my side trying desperately to hold in my laughter and Solace coughed next to me, covering his mouth to hide his amusement. We had not laughed unabashedly days and her unexpected, edgy humor hit us hard.

"Lee you're twice his age," I hissed, elbowing her lightly.

"Pfft, I'm like ten years older besides I'm just window shopping," she huffed, smiling devilishly at us both as Emmett deep voice filled the night.

"My gran wrote this letter to us while sitting on this beach a few days before she died. She wanted us to read it before we handed out a few items she selected special for her family and friends," he said clearing his throat repeatedly. He looked like a nervous boy presenting to the class, despite his size his mannerisms were gentle and his demeanor was kind.

"As a child I don't remember ever taking a moment to truly appreciate the beauty of this small piece of land we are all a part of. I took for granted the ground that my roots were planted in. La Push is where I met the love of my life Jared, where together we created four perfect children and helped raise and counsel countless others. Every happy and wondrous moment in our lives happened in this square mile of land. The cliff, the sand and the waves bore witness to every step of our incredible life journey. We, the children of La Push, belong to this land and have a sacred duty not only to protect but to enrich it. I grew up poor which taught me many of the best life skills that I have instilled in all of my successful and prosperous children. Living frugally was one of those many skills and is the reason why Jared and I have so much to leave behind. We had hoped to have enough time to take part in our last potlatch ceremony ourselves, but I feel as though the earth is calling for me to return," Emmett stopped here and pinched the bridge of his nose tossing his head back to the sky before regaining composure.

"Um, every family here has given us so much. The Uleys and Varns who have given us love and family, the Averys and Lahotes who gave us friendship and forgiveness, the Calls and Littleseas who gave us compassion and adventure, the Clearwaters, Blacks and Fullers gave us fierce loyalty and support, and finally the Atearas and Moores who gave us beauty and understanding. We have consolidated the majority of our wealth for the creation of the community center but please accept these personal trinkets as tokens of our undying love. May the roots of our family trees continue to cross and our love live forever in your memory," Emmett finished smiling though his tears were now openly falling.

He turned away from the group and dug into the duffle bag pulling out a wide variety of smaller parcels. He distributed these packages slowly, double checking each handwritten tag with each face. I chuckled when Seth volunteered to help the gentle giant, who having grown up across the universe, was not as familiar with the crowd. We had never spoken before and I had only seen him once orbtwice in passing, so I shocked when he stopped in front of me. He extended a big tanned hand with an envelope and a small satchel which had a tag with Carina's name written in Jared's neat cursive.

"Carina, baby girl you got a gift," I whispered, bouncing my knee to rouse her. I opened her package first, it was heavy and I laughed almost manically when I saw the contents, stopping Emmett in his tracks.

"What?" Solace asked, peering over my shoulder to see the giant emerald now placed carefully in Carina's palm.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and turned to Solace expecting to see shock but he looked back at me equally curious.

"Oh man, I swear this happens at every party. I suppose it's better your girl than mine," Harley chuckled. I followed her line of sight to find Emmett staring in reverent awe at my Carina and my toothless baby girl smiling peacefully back at him.

"What's wrong with him," Jett asked Harley, as blood rushed to my ears.

"He's probably high, too much peyote. You know we do that at funerals here, it's a native thing. Look, I think my mom has something for me in that bag," Harley said awkwardly lying.

"Harley's husband doesn't know?" David whispered, watching as she grabbed Jett's hand and ushered him away with Starr in tow.

Harley had chosen not to explain the special circumstances that surrounded our pack and insisted repeatedly that Kim's tales were nothing more than fireside urban legends, though I suspected that Jett sensed something more.

"She'll probably have to say something now. I think he'll notice my son not aging," Ethan added standing at David's side. He was right. Harley always swore that when the right time came she would tell Jett and it seemed that time would come sooner than later.

"Congrats bro," David said, tossing Ethan a beer casually. Ethan caught it gracefully and saluded him. Knowing their history, that simple gesture made my heart swell.

Solace stood up, pulling me to my feet with him but I stumbled, so shocked my legs refused to work. Emmett rushed forward, bracing me and making sure Carina was safe. The ring fell out of her little hand and with the reflexes of a wolf my sister-in-law Sammy caught it.

"Hmm, makes sense. It's been a while since we've had an imprinting," Sammy's sister Charlie said thoughtfully from her side.

"Yeah three years at least," Addison nodded, inspecting the ring curiously.

"Wait a minute, let me do the math on this," Sammy's youngest sister Shane said, using her pointer finger to map something out in the air. "Okay they aren't related, so I'mma say this is a win."

"Hell yeah, congrats!" Sammy called, moving forward to clap Emmett on the back. In a rush of action, after ripples of excited whispers fell over the crowd, everyone moved closer.

Solace recovered faster than me and with a gracious smile, hugged Emmett forcefully. He accepted his hug readily but his eyes stayed glued to Carina over his shoulder.

"Welcome to the family," Solace sighed, patting Emmett's back awkwardly. Jake and Seth howled in unison, clinking their beer bottles loudly and I laughed as the reality finally started to settle in.

"Can I hold her," Emmett asked nervously and I nodded, not trusting my voice. I was a perfect storm of emotions: happy, incredulous, relieved, sad, proud but above all I was hopeful.

Her grabbed her with some skill, he was not a novice when it came to children and I watched as he carefully supported her head and cradled her to his chest. Carina cooed happily, gripping his big thumb in her little hand and staring at him in a way I'd never seen her focus on anything.

"She's so perfect," he whispered to himself in wonder. Solace read my face and kiss my forehead gingerly.

"It'll be different for them. Easy and beautiful," Solace said answering the traces of worry on my face.

Elena rushed to embrace me and I let the tiny woman pull me into a surprisingly strong hug, as our mothers danced together happily next to us.

"I guess we'll need to find a place closer than the Cullen manner in Forks," Elena said her eyes tearing as she watched Emmett hesitantly smelling the soft baby hairs on Carina's head.

"You guys can build next to us, we've got the land," Solace said and just then a fully fledged plan exploded my mind. I could picture it all perfectly, the future of our town and out families but I tucked it away for tomorrow.

I grabbed a beer from Jodan, kissed my husband passionately and allowed myself this moment to celebrate with my family new and old, the way Kim and Jared would have wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

I've had four people now ask me if I'm open to a question and answer session, or if they could have more info about a person or couple not mentioned in this fic.

I'm more than willing to answer any questions you have about the universe, I have tons of my planning documents and profiles on all the different couples and families. So before I finish writing and post the final chapter if you have any questions about anything from conceptualization to character follow-up or motivation, or even about me just comment here or message me and I'll compile them for a follow-up chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: it is finally finished to my liking! Thank you everyone who has read the whole way through whether it was your first time reading or rereading The Imprint Series.

I definitely bit off more than I could chew the first time around so thank you for allowing me the chance to fine tune it this time around.

* * *

Chapter 6: Planting Roots

* * *

"Maddz, do you trust Jett?" My sister asked from the other side of the sectional couch. Our husbands were both upstairs, knocked out in our childhood rooms but neither of us could sleep after returning from the beach, so without discussing we'd both changed into comfy jammies and convened in the living room.

After a bit of searching in the pantry we'd found a dusty bottle of red wine which we popped open before sprawling out on the old couches with our heads to each other, the way we did as children watching movies. Though the sectional couch could have fit us all comfortably, Harley and I always spread out as long as possible and forced Addison to lay on the carpeted floor. We were both longer now though, so we filled the space much easier.

"What kinda question is that Lee, do _you_ trust him?" I asked in shock.

"Yes… but no… I don't know," she sighed uncommitally.

"What is this about? You guys have been together for like ten years," I shot up to face her.

"Twelve years," she corrected, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest.

"Is this about the pack? Why haven't you told him about the pack?" I asked, grabbing my wine from the coffee table.

"I didn't get an imprint and I didn't become a wolf," she said slowly as if this answered everything but when my face morphed into a mask of confusion she continued. "My entire life I thought someone's son would phase and imprint on me or a stray vamp would come near me and I would burst into fur, ya know? Then everything would fall into place and I would be a part of the pack and my future would be clear."

"You wanted that?"

She nodded, "who wouldn't want to know, without a shadow of doubt, that they've found their soulmate? That's like classic romance novel shit but once I turned 19 and nothing happened I figured the only thing I could do for this pack, was to keep their secret. Telling goes against everything."

"There's always doubt, Lee imprint or not but are you doubting Jett's loyalty to you?"

"No, I know he loves me but what if he freaks out and can't handle it? Or what if we don't last and he tells Entertainment Tonight? But then what if our next kid is a boy and one day some hipster vampire passes him in Soho and suddenly he's lost his shape…" She trailed off and the image of a hipster vampire passing a tanned teenager on the busy streets of New York played in my mind. I chuckled imagining my handsome imaginary nephew.

"You have to tell him Lee. He wouldn't be the first outsider to know and he probably won't be the last. It's only fair and for what it's worth I do trust him. I can't guarantee your marriage will last forever but I know Jett, he loves you and he doesn't have a vindictive bone in his body."

"Okay… I'll tell him. Maybe Emmett can give us a demonstration," Harley said jerking her chin toward Addison's old room where Emmett now slept. As guests flooded La Push, the Cullen manor and the old Cameron house were overflowing so he had been more than eager to take my mother's invitation to stay here; where Carina would be for at least the next few nights.

"God, I'm still trying to process that," I said finishing my glass in one big gulp.

"Word on the street is that he's a good kid," Harley said thoughtfully then added, "and I mean could she have hit the jackpot anymore in the looks department? I thought Solace was something else but he's fucking unbelievable."

"Heeey," I whined then joined her when she broke into a round of obnoxious laughter.

"Why are you worried about it? She's set for life, brother, protector, best friend, lover… she'll never want for anything and you know he won't hurt her," she reasoned.

"Oh no, it's not about him at all… I don't even know how to explain it without sounding dumb but it's like I'm losing another part of her. It feels like I never have enough time with Carina and she's growing so fast. It hurts sometimes seeing how obsessed she is with her Papa and I don't wanna become the third one down on the totem pole," I confessed. Harley punched my arm.

"Don't be stupid, did you love our parents any less because Solace was around? Besides we choose our schedules, that's the best part about our jobs. So when you move back take some time off. After my next project I'm taking a long break, I want another baby," she said casually. I watched her blush through my own tear-filled eyes. I spent my childhood bickering with my little sister who was always so gorgeous and brave and determined, now I admired her more than I could comfortably express in words.

"I'm going to miss being able to skip over to your place," I sighed, stealthily swiping away my tears.

"Well then I guess Solace won't mind if I break the news to you myself," she said finishing her drink and stumbling to get her phone. She fiddled with her screen which switched to life brightly.

"What news?" I asked anxiously.

"Good news," she said passing her big phone to me. I stared at the screen for a long time, not sure what I was looking at. There was a timeline, with historical facts about La Push and the Makah tribe and typed phrases like rape, treaty and lost women interspersed.

"What am I looking at?"

"My first documentary, Maddz. I've wanted to make this for years and studios kept telling me to wait for the right time but I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of seeing movies made by white men depicting our indigenous communities as either havens for drugs and debauchery, or portraying us as mystical stereotypes. I want to highlight the real bullshit that going on. I'm going to tour the remaining reservations in North America recording their stories starting in La Push, so I'll be back here for a while at least," she said, her eyes filled with the passion that marked us as sisters.

"What does this have to do with Solace?" I asked hesitantly.

"I've put half of my savings into this project and he's matched my investment, it's a lot of money but he believes in it. People need to know that the funding is being cut, that treaty lands are being stolen, and that our women are being raped and murdered with impunity," she grasped my hands pleadingly but I pushed them away.

I pulled her into a hug, both relieved and excited that for the first time in 18 years we would be together again living in La Push. We drank another glass of wine and settled in with our heads together, chatting until we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore.

"Love you Maddz," Lee said as I drifted to sleep.

I barely got out my reply before sleep claimed me, "you too."

.X*X.

"When are you and Jordan going back home to Atlanta?" I asked Mark over the phone. I had just gotten off the phone with Helen and Addison, and now I was raring to go. Harley still slept peacefully on the couch but I had been waiting for over an hour for the clock to hit 9, which I deemed the earliest time it was appropriate to call on a Sunday.

"Day after tomorrow, we're having dinner with Hazel and her new boyfriend tomorrow night," Mark said gruffly.

"What? Baby Hazel has a boyfriend? Details," I insisted momentarily distracted from the mission at hand.

Mark and Jordan's youngest child Hazel was never very interested in boys. I'd always suspected she was a lesbian like Shane Uley, because despite being surrounded by some of the best looking men in the Olympic Peninsula, she was single minded focused on school. The beautiful redhead finished high school two years before her peers, enrolled in an six year dual-degree medical program, did her residency in Boston and returned to La Push to work in the clinic, serving the community that raised her all before her 25th birthday; just as she planned.

"Don't know much honestly, he came to the funeral but I only got to talk to him for a few minutes. He's a local male nurse, which explains why she's changed her mind about pursuing her specialty in cardiology and moving to Georgia to be closer to us," Mark hissed and I gasped.

"Wait, he's a Quileute?"

"He's mixed, Quileute, Hoh, Makah and black I think… he's pretty cute, I guess," Mark conceded and I giggled.

"You don't sound too thrilled," I chuckled, fiddling with my mother's old coffee maker.

"I don't know, Jordan says I'm being a jerk about it but she's 27 and she's never brought a boy home before so I guess I wasn't prepared. It's just that nothing has ever stood in the way of her plans you know? She's always been such a stubborn little thing. She pushed me to enroll in school with her and become a lawyer, she forced me to take the bar exam in Georgia. Now some guy comes along and her year volunteering in La Push turns into a career?" Mark scoffed.

"I think it's great Mark, we have so many smart kids that leave for college, become something big and never come back. She might not be quileute by blood but she understand the needs of the community," I reasoned and he softened.

"I know it's great for La Push… but you know your dad says he moved in with her in that apartment above the shop and she didn't even tell us," Mark continued scandalized. I giggled.

"Probably because she knew you'd gossip about it," I joked and he laughed. "Look I have this idea about Kim's center and I need some advice. I know you worked for the tribal council for a long time and now you're a lawyer so I think you might be uniquely skilled to help me figure it out. Do you think you have time to meet with me before you leave?"

"Sure, where do you wanna meet?"

"Can you meet me at Helen and Collin's around noon?" I asked hopefully. If he thought it was a weird request, he didn't let it show and he agreed without pause.

"Morning my beautiful, brilliant, talented wife," Solace hummed in my ear. He came from behind and pulled me to him.

"Hey sexy," I growled, accepting his kisses. Ezra danced around us as Solace pushed me against the kitchen counter to deepen our kiss.

"Eww," Addison whined loudly. He, Sammy and their son Caleb let themselves into the kitchen without knocking. We stopped kissing but didn't put much space between us. Caleb was only two years older than Ezra but in comparison he looked like a giant and he greeted his cousin with a high-five.

"Where's my baby g-" I started but stopped when I spotted Caruna cradled in Emmett's arms in the doorway. Sammy dropped a box of donuts on the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee, more at home than the rest of us.

"Good morning," Emmett called, using Carina's little hand to wave. She was impossibly cheesy and bouncy in his arms.

Without discussion Addison and Solace started making breakfast and before long the sounds and smell of morning aroused the rest of the house. The dark circles under my father's eyes were deeper, like purple bruises but he seemed happy to see us as we all crowded around the table and counter. I hugged him tight, taking in his old familiar scent and allowing him to curl me into his arms. My mother joined us soon after and we dug into to a feast of thick sour dough toast, smoked salmon, poached eggs and fruit salad.

For the past 4 months I had been trying to get Carina to eat any baby food that wasn't banana and she stubbornly denied me, throwing full blown tantrums and creating a mess whenever I tried but she joined us in our breakfast feast with polite interest. Without so much as a token protest, she sat gurgling and smiling as Emmett fed her a carrot sweet potato puree.

"Why didn't you tell me about investing in Lee's movie," I whispered to Solace, passing him half of my avocado as the room filled with happy commotion.

"I hadn't gotten a chance to, plus it wasn't that much just one of our smaller accounts. It was for you, so you can get a few months with Lee in town after we get settled in. Maybe she'll wanna stay or build herself a little cabin by us," Solace said with a wink.

"She said it was a lot of money," I pressed.

"A lot for her, not for us. It didn't even put a dent in our savings honestly," he said with a smirk. I cocked my head surprised.

In all honesty I didn't know much about our financial situation. I knew that with a bit of help from Alice Cullen, Solace started investing before I was born and had an extensive stock portfolio. I knew that he'd continued to make smart investments and worked only for his own enjoyment but I'd always assumed that my little sister, who was now a big name director and her handsome actor of a husband, far outearned us.

"Okay, well then I hope that means you won't bat an eye when I bring up our next big investment because I'm having a business meeting at Helen's in a few hours." He arched one of his eyebrows at me quizzically but didn't press, instead he kissed my cheek and went back to his giant plate.

When the time came for us to go to Helen's house Emmett was more than willing to help my parents watch the little ones. All around us the leaves were changing color and we walked hand in hand through town with Sammy and Addison in tow.

"Before Krys and Sarah lived here this house used to belong to Jared's mom. She was the sweetest lady ever and a wicked good cook," Solace said pointing to a well kept sage green house on the end of our block.

"This used to be a bait shop that sold sandwiches," Solace continued the tour, pointing out a small shop that now housed tourist trinkets and supplies for hikers who wandered through town from the Olympic National Park for access to the beach.

"Who lived here before David and Trisha?" I asked pointing to the familiar blue house down the road we were passing.

"Jacob and his father Billy, before them would have been Jake's grandpa. I don't remember him too well, he was a tribe elder but he died when I was young. This was my mom's church," Solace said pointing to the La Push Assembly of God Church which was soft blue and larger than most structures around it, though I couldn't think of anyone in our family or circle who attended.

"When we're back do you want to take the kids here," I asked casually. I knew he had a deeply religious upbringing but we had never discussed how or if we would expose our children to it.

"Oh god no," he chuckled as we rounded the corner to see Johnny's Fish Fry boarded up and closed.

With each new piece of town history that Solace shared I felt my roots taking hold, as if they were sprouting from the bottom of my feet. I wasn't alone. I watched as Sammy and Addison listened intently with each new revelation. David, Trisha and Ethan met us in the driveway and I guessed that Helen had invited a few more key players to figure it all out.

Mark and Jordan were already inside and just as I asked, Helen had a wide array of town maps and tribal bylaws spread across the dining room table. When the library closed she kept everything that couldn't fit on the mobile library in her basement, including all of La Push's maps, plans and important documents.

"So what's this about," Mark asked, inspecting the maps curiously. I pulled out the huge stack of paperwork I'd found in Solace's study from the purchase of our home and the surrounding area then cleared by throat. I had never been much of a public speaker but the genuine interest in all of their faces gave me the strength I needed to continue.

"Okay, well I love the design for the center but as we know there isn't space to complete it as she planned, in the same spot that the current QTC sits on. I've put a lot of thought about it and I have an idea. I think that the current QTC should be the site of the new clinic, there is money now to get the clinic going ASAP and a doctor who just needs new equipment. Ethan do you think Carlisle would be willing to help Hazel set up?" I asked and before Ethan could speak Helen objected loudly.

"Are you saying we should just drop the plans for the teen center and the library?" She asked incredulously.

"No, not at all. Addison's design is beautiful in fact I want to add to it. I want to replace the clinic with a digital media and fine arts center that I could help run. We could hold community events like model sketching or watercolors with seniors," I said putting my hands up in a sign of peace.

"If the problem is land then where are we supposed to build this even bigger center?" Addison asked logically.

"We have land, a little over ten acres right on the border of town," Solace said spreading out our deed next to the map of La Push. Mark and David leaned over the maps together, with identical bright white smiles. Though Mark was frozen in time, he and David still looked so much alike that seeing them together was jarring, like looking at a before and after.

"The biggest problem I see with this is that the funding to run the library, the teen center, all of the programs here come from a trust owned by the reservation, mostly funded by the government. If we build off the rez it might not be eligible for funding, we'd need to look into that," Mark said nodding his head thoughtfully.

"I already thought of that..." I said trailing off and catching Solace's eye before I continued. "If we have to donate part of our land to expand La Push we will. Solace and I will keep this portion for ourselves and the rest can go back to La Push if they agree never to sell it."

"I'm sure we can work that out with the tribal council considering Quil, Sam and my dad are all voting members," Trisha said sharing a hopeful look with her daughter Sammy.

"If we keep this beachside section for ourselves there's still about 8 acres left. Taking into consideration that we would want to preserve some of the trees along here," I paused pointing to the map. "we will still have enough land to build the center and more."

"That would be perfect," Jordan whispered double checking the map closely with Helen.

"What _more_ are you thinking about Babe?" Solace asked with a devastating smile.

"Well developers wanna build luxury houses all around us right? Why don't we beat them to the punch, but instead of building unattainable summer cabins for the rich let's build nice but affordable homes for young families like Harrison and Cooper. We have young blood let's keep them here. We can build a line of houses on the other side of the center and two or three apartment buildings with storefronts for local small businesses. The apartment above my dad's little store has never been empty for long and the store stays busy selling just the essentials," I said using my finger to map it out. Addison next to me nodded eagerly, his eyes faraway in planning mode.

"We could create a new road that feeds into La Push Road here… to avoid the look of generic gated communities and keep the cost of production down we could focus on using recycled and unconventional materials like silos and shipping containers painted in soft coastal hues. Each house could have a unique feel while still fitting the vibe of the center," Addison said, bringing out his phone.

"I've always wanted to work with shipping containers," David pumped his fist in excitement. As soon as Addison found examples to show the group, ideas began to flow and Helen made a big pot of coffee.

Sitting in the Littlesea living room we spoke rapidly, Jordan keeping track of ideas in a spiral notebook while Addison and David sketched. More people were called in to consult and before long the house was full, and the future of La Push was sketched out before us.

My parents brought over a mountain pizza and the rest of my family as night fell. Soon after Soli and Randy came bearing liquor.

"We should leave tomorrow," Solace whispered in my ear as I watched Emmett and Jett play another rousing round of hide n' seek with Starr and Carina.

"What? Why? I thought we have a week before Shanghai Fashion week?" I asked, the news hitting me like a brick.

"Babe, we have to pack up our place in L.A before we leave for China, Emmett said he'd come so we have an extra set of hands and Lee said she'd help hire a company to get everything in New York packed. So, the sooner we leave the sooner we can come back," he reasoned but I still pouted.

The night went by in a blur of laughter and drinks. At some point Harley, pink faced and tipsy told her very sober husband about the pack. Jett took it with surprising ease, even after Mark gracefully phased in front of him to prove it was real. The first time I'd seen one of the wolves phase as a young girl I cried, but Jett remained cool and collected as ever. He nodded and simply whispered an awed wow, before thanking everyone for trusting him with their secret. He hugged me extra hard when he and Emmett decided to leave though, taking Lee and my children with them.

The crowd slowly dispersed, and when Helen's loud yawn could be heard above the music the four remaining couples walked together to the beach, paired up randomly as they spoke. I walked with Soli, making plans for coming adventures in La Push. Randy linked arms with my mother, walking barefoot in the sand ahead of us, while my father listened to Jordan's fears about their recent move to Georgia being too far from home. Solace and Mark dragged behind but when we reached the shore we found our partners organically, sitting in mated pairs in the sand.

"Quil, you know what those maps remind me of?" Mark asked innocently, my father threw his head back and practically barked in laughter.

"What?" Soli and I asked in unison.

"After high school your mom went to Europe with the Cullens for the summer and I had to stay behind because we were down to only a handful of wolves," my father started pointedly looking at Jordan and Solace.

"Claire was only gone for like a month and he lost all this weight, and after patrol every night he started running until he got exhausted and passed out in random states. My father finally decided to put him out of his misery," Mark took over the story smiling. "So he dragged me out of bed to go to the library and memorize maps for Quil to follow, and this guy literally ran to Europe."

"And swam, he had to swim at one point," my mother chuckled with a warm glint in her eyes. I'd never heard this story. There were so many stories of La Push left for me to hear and a lot more stories to make.

My parents left first, kissing my forehead as they went. Soli and Randy followed and we said our goodbyes until their planned return in the new year. Mark and Jordan stayed the latest, huddling in and surrounding me in their supernatural warmth as the night grew colder.

"How much longer do you think we need to wait to before we can come back? Will we be grandparents or great grandparents?" Mark asked poutily. Jordan chuckled and put his arm out to help him up from the sand, which he dusted off Mark's butt vigorously.

"Give it five years and call yourself David's bastard son," Solace said accepting their hugs readily. I stayed stubbornly perched on a large piece of driftwood.

I didn't want to go. I wanted to throw myself to the ground and fuse with the sand beneath my toes to become part of this place indefinitely. My feet stayed rooted and for once I didn't follow his lead when we steered me away from the shore.

"We'll be back," Solace promised with a gentle kiss to my temple. And we were.

Two months later we settled in La Push, in a home fit perfectly for a growing family and others soon followed in a steady trickle. Pack members new and old were folded back into the fabric of their tribal land, adding new hues to the rich tapestry of their history. The center was built and around it other homes and businesses were erected.

More funerals came but they were outnumbered by celebrations of life, love and birth. When it was necessary, those who were blessed with immortality would leave, but like clockwork they would return several decades later. They came with new names but were always greeted with a few familiar faces.

The power of their blood remained strong and though the numbers of the pack fluctuated it never disappeared, neither did the ancient dangers of the cold ones. The world around them shifted and changed but family and duty stayed constant. So also remained, the inexplicable magic that bonded these warriors to their indomitable partners at first sight. This unexplainable magic prevailed, generation after generation, so that the complete story of this town could be told in a series of imprints.

FIN

.X*X.X*X.X*X.

A/N: I will answer all the questions from the last note and all those you leave in the comments in a final author's note for those of you that are curious. Thanks again


	8. Chapter 8

These are all the questions I received in reviews and message of you have any more pressing questions feel free to ask.

 **.X*X.**

 **1\. Will Mark and Jordan ever stop phasing and let the passage of time take over? I know they can technically live forever - but I wonder if at one point they would decide to age together?** In the fic Angel With the Green Dress On Mark and Jordan discuss immortality. They stopped phasing for a few years then decided to start again. I feel like much like the Cullens they will continue to live as a couple traveling and occasionally returning to La Push.

 **2\. Did Mark and Trisha ever reconcile? I loved their friendship and it always broke my heart that they were not really friends towards the end.** Yes, I put a glimpse of them together in this fic to show that they had reconciled. They made up after the birth of Trisha's fifth daughter Shane who is just a bit younger than Hazel and who became friends in kindergarten.

 **3\. Did Leah ever return?** No. Leah stopped phasing, opened a yoga studio, found love, got married and became an excellent stepmother. I have mentioned her in several fics but in my series her story was written by PanemTrib. Her short fic is actually one of my favorites its it's called The Pardon and I highly recommend it. We have been talking recently and she might be writing more, over agreed to beta.

 **4\. If you could explore any of the new imprint generations, who would choose?** Kai's generation is actually fascinating because they are smaller and much more interwoven through blood and imprinting than previous ones. Tristan, Emmett and Kai grew up very close, Harrison's sister is Kai's imprint, etc. They establish a very strong brotherhood.

 **5\. Do you think further along the line - there would be another big war that would cause a new flood of wolves? (seeing as their involvement with vampires would cause the tribe to always be on the radar of vampires)?** Yes, they have been challenged before with the Volturi then with Jun and his crew, they will always be a target. I don't think there will ever be as big of an influx as there was for the Great Renesmee War, there's no coven as large as the Volturi outside of the Cullens.

 **6\. If you could write about anything, what would be your favorite thing to write about?** I'm outlining a book now, its it's an urban fantasy that I am hoping to start writing soon. Honestly before writing this last fic I haven't written in like 5 years. Before this series I primarily wrote television/movie scripts that I never tried to shop around and simple short stories about highly flawed but relatable women such as myself lol.

 **7\. Can you tell me more about Krista and Levi since their story was never finished?** Well Krista and Levi other than the communication barriers in the beginning their relationship went smoothly. They went to college together, moved up to Tacoma where Levi worked as a park ranger. When Krista's father gets sick and retires they moved back to La Push to take over their grocery store business. They have 4 beautiful kids 3 girls Meadow, Blossom and Willow and one son Silas.

 **8\. Will Sammy and Addison's son be a wolf even though Addison never phased?** They will have two sons Caleb and Fynn and both will phase.

 **9\. Update on Freddie and his girl?** Mari and Freddie have two sons named Mateo and Saul. After Freddie retired they leave La Push and settle in Europe. Being half wolf and half vampire, Freddie is uniquely immune to vampire venom, so after a few years Will with turn Mari and they will both be immortal. Their son Saul will phase and Mateo will not.

 **10\. In hindsight what would you change if you could undo anything?** Honestly I we think everything turned out good in the end but I have regrets over Seth. I originally planned on him imprinting on a traveling graffiti artist and Native American activist around the time that Mark and Jordan got married but I was getting burned out and I kinda pawned it off on another writer. Looking back it was really lazy and rash and I wish I had written the story I had outlined.

 **11\. Who is your favorite character and what is your favorite chapter have ever written?** Favorite character was Kim and she was the easiest, most fun to write. My favorite chapter is harder, there are a few. I loved the chapter where Quil gives the birds and bees talk to Mark, David, Ethan and Taylor because it was really the intro to the next generation. I also really love the chapter Taylor imprints and Mark is heartbroken with Solace. It was brutal and emotional but it was real and it mirrored my own heartbreak at the time I wrote it so it was therapeutic.

 **12\. Which female character do you most relate with?** Maddie and Soli are actually based on me during vastly differently stages in my life. Soli was me from my volatile, angry and rebellious teenage years. Maddox was the fashionable yet insecure and passionately creative young adult me. While I think Kim was what I hoped to grow into: confident, wise and straight forward.

 **13\. If you could have Stephenie Meyer include one of your OCs in the story which one would it be?** Hmmm, that's hard to say. I think that I would be happy with her highlighting any of the wolves hers or mine more closely… that's basically why I started the universe, I just needed to know more about them. Though Solace would be fun, to be honest there were moments when I forgot he wasn't canon.

 **14\. You kinda mentioned Seth and Jessy living in Europe with Ethan, Taylor and Amber but what do they do, how is their life?** Hmm well Jessy works with Melody on her start-up. Seth was a cop in La Push for a but now he is a security consultant.


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